Broken Knights
by Nychothomas
Summary: How would knightfall and the killing joke have happened in the BTASuniverse, read and find out. Most prominent characters: Batman, Bane, Joker, Scarecrow, Dick/Robin, Barbara. similarities with abovementioned comics are only vague as I never read them
1. prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't and never will own any of the characters used in the story, nor have I got any intent on earning money with this story**

**Notes: Well I kind of wondered how Knightfall or The Killing Joke would fit in the animated universe, hence I started to write it. The similarities with both comic book series will only be vague though, as I never read them. All I know is what was written on wikipedia, and I deliberately changed some of it. The story takes place after subzero, it will not fit with The New Batman Adventures. The story will contain several scenes that might be shocking to a young or sensitive audience (especially chapter 2). I don't forbid anyone to read it, though don't say I didn't warn you. Enjoy.**

Prologue

**Stonegate Penitentiary**

"Diego, visitor!"

Bane stood up. He was clearly confused as the guards escorted him to the visitor's area. Who would want to visit him? He sat down. The guards were standing next to him. Behind the window was a man he had never seen before.

"Good afternoon, Mr. … I suppose you prefer Bane", he started. Bane nodded.

"I am professor Achilles Milo, I'm here on behalf of your mother"

Bane looked up. His mother had died a long time ago. However, he didn't show any sign of surprise towards the guards and calmly replied: "go on."

"I am your mothers medical doctor, I'm afraid she isn't doing too well, Mr. Bane. In fact she only has a couple of months to live."

Bane gasped realistically when he heard this. Even though he still wasn't sure what this guy was after exactly, he was getting a fair idea.

"She would have come herself if she had the strength to do so, I assure you that Mr. Bane", Milo said, "she realizes she hasn't been the best mother and hopes you can forgive her. If you'd ever like to call or write her, you can use this address and phone number." Milo passed a piece of paper to the guards, as it only contained a Gotham address and phone number, they saw no harm in giving it to Bane.

"It is hard for me to forgive her, professor Milo," Bane replied, "she didn't visit me a single time in prison, not here and not in Cuba. And now it seems she is in Gotham and she still doesn't visit me." He slammed the desk with his fist. His fake anger clearly fooled the guards.

"She realizes that Mr. Bane. She had lost track of you after you escaped Pena Duro. When she heard you were in Gotham she was already very ill. Nevertheless she started saving money to go to Gotham. Unfortunately she had a stroke when she arrived and was immediately taken to a hospital. She has been bedbound ever since, albeit at my research centre now. She has seen you on TV though and noticed you looked rather faint, you know how mothers are always the first to notice such things, and asked me to bring you this to give you some energy." As he said this Milo opened a box. There was a fruit cake in it, on the cake lay a chocolate oval with the name Toño written on it.

Bane smiled, even though it wasn't for the reason the guards were thinking. He knew exactly what the word energy meant.

"Hang on a minute professor," one of the guards interrupted, "you can't just import goods in jail, what if there's a file hidden in it or…"

"I understand that, sir," Milo replied, "and so did his mother. She didn't bother the guards having a piece of the cake as long as the chocolate oval was for her Antonio. He always loved those when he 

was a kid, or so she said. I suppose there's no harm in eating it here and now, is there? It's a dying woman's wish."

"I suppose not, sir, would you like a piece too?"

"Of course."


	2. Chapter 1: The Breakout

Chapter I the breakout

**One week later at Wayne Manor**

"As of yet it is unclear how Bane was able to regain his former strength and esca…", Bruce Wayne turned off the TV. The look on his face left no room for doubt: he was clearly worried. He looked at Dick Grayson, who sat quietly in the couch. Both men kept staring at each other without saying a word. Eventually it was Alfred that broke the silence.

"Dinner will be served in ten minutes, master Bruce, master Dick"

"I'm not hungry, Alfred", Bruce replied.

"Really, master Bruce, no matter how bad the news might have been, you still have to eat"

"He's right, Bruce," Dick interfered as Bruce wanted to reply, "we're gonna need all the energy we can get in order to stop our runaway muscle bag, besides it might help to clear our thoughts for a little while."

"Am I correct to assume that you will be having dinner then, master Dick."

"Of course, Alfie, hopefully I don't have to eat it all by myself, I know how much you cook. Are you coming Bruce?"

"Very well then", Bruce replied. Dinner far from cleared both men's thoughts though, as Bane soon became the main subject of their conversation.

"Do you think he'll come after us, Bruce?", Dick asked.

"Well I was the one that defeated him. The way I see it he'll either go after Thorne or batman. Thorne probably went underground the moment he heard about it, and as Thorne doesn't care about anyone, it's gonna be hard to get him out, even for Bane."

"We could keep a low profile, maybe he'll leave out of complete boredom."

"I don't think that would work. Bane is as intelligent and patient as he is strong. He'll find a way to get us out of our shell, besides if we don't show up for a while Batgirl might get the idea to patrol on her own, she wouldn't stand a chance against someone like Bane."

Dick nodded. He knew Bruce was right and the last thing he'd want was that anything bad happened to anyone because the dynamic duo didn't do its job. The fact that it would be Batgirl even intensified these feelings. He had the strange feeling that he knew her. He couldn't really put a name on her, but there was something familiar about her. "Well it seems we'll have some work to do 

then", he said eventually as he handed his empty plate over to Alfred. Both men went down to the Batcave.

"So what will we do first?", Dick, now fully dressed in his Robin-costume, asked.

"To Stonegate", Batman answered

"Fine with me", he replied as he jumped into the Batmobile.

The engine started and the Batmobile left the cave into the night.

**Arkham Asylum, the Joker's cell**

The Joker lay on his bed, he had heard about Bane's escape. He had seen the ruins he left behind after the runoff. _Such a lack of delicacy_, he had thought. His time to check out of his favourite hotel would come soon enough though. But for now he just wanted to enjoy a quiet night. He wasn't granted this simple wish however, as the next thing he knew he was blown out of his bed by an explosion. _Who dares to interfere with my night's rest?_, he thought angrily as he headed towards the hole in the wall of his cell. Even though it headed straight out, all he could think of was the draught it would create in his cell, which would prevent him to fall asleep. He walked out and noticed that all the cells on his wing, the wing that contained Gotham's most dangerous criminals, shared the same faith as his. All except one. He thought for a while and ran off to freedom. "Well folks, it seems I'll have to check out early, whaahahahaha!"

**In the Batmobile**

"Attention, we have an emergency situation. All free units should head for Arkham immediately", could be heard through the radio.

"This sounds serious, Batman", Robin said, "maybe we should go there and see what's happening"

"My thoughts exactly", Batman replied as he turned around the car and headed for Arkham.

Arkham was loaded with police. James Gordon stood by his car, clearly worried.

"Care to enlighten us about what's happened?", Batman asked as he approached the commissioner.

"Well someone managed to take out all the guards and free the entire maximum security wing of Arkham", Gordon replied, "well the entire wing except for Lock-Up that is."

"Looks like someone wants them to roam free through Gotham"

"Why would anyone want these nutcases to roam free?", the commissioner asked.

"To keep us busy, I guess", Robin replied.

"Exactly," Batman interfered, "this is probably Bane's work. A part of his strategy to defeat me."

"That'd make sense", Gordon said as he looked away, "though, I … where the … Aargh, I should be used to that by now."

**Back in the Batmobile**

"Stonegate will have to wait, we've got more important matters to attend", Batman said while starting the engine and heading back to the Batcave.

"Wouldn't we be doing exactly what Bane wants us to do"

"I know, but we don't really have a choice, do we?"


	3. Chapter 2: Hit them where it hurts

**Notes: Here's chapter two. As I said before certain actions in this chapter might not be suitable for a young or a sensitive audience. This is pretty much where the action starts. Reviews are very welcome. I'll add a reader poll with the next chapter, by the way**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the characters, nor do I earn money with them**

Chapter II Hit them where it hurts the most

**Batcave**

"Let's look at our situation: we've got Bane, eleven Arkham inmates, namely the Joker, Two-Face, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, the Mad Hatter, the Ventriloquist, the Clock King, Maxie Zeus and the Scarecrow, and of course Gotham's usual lowlife. It'll be a rough night", Batman said, "fortunately, Bane will probably keep a low profile until he sees the ideal opportunity to strike, which will probably be when capturing the Arkham inmates will have taken its toll."

"Hmm, and since the Riddler usually only shows up once he has thought of and realized some brilliant plan to take us out, I wouldn't really expect to see him either for the next month or so", Robin added, "and we could always leave the small crimes to the police … or Batgirl."

"Nevertheless, we'll have plenty of work to do. We do have an advantage for today, though. The escape was unexpected for the inmates as well. Most of them won't really have a plan and will probably be looking for supplies first."

"I suppose I could patrol the labs of Gotham State University, a lot of them use gases or other chemical residues."

"Yes, and I'll go to Gotham Harbour, get in touch if you find something out."

**Department of Organic Chemistry, Gotham State University**

Jonathan Crane, better known as the Scarecrow, scouted the area. He barely had any fear powder, and was in dire need of ingredients for new fear compositions. The area seemed deserted, which meant he could easily obtain the chemicals. However, when he arrived at the door he noticed the door had already been forced. He noticed a corpulent thug randomly trashing the place and taking chemicals of which he probably didn't even know if they were the ones he was looking for. "Looking for something?"

The thug looked up and noticed the skinny, masked silhouette standing in the doorpost. "Outa my way, freak," he yelled as he lunged for the Scarecrow, "my boss eats creeps like for breakfast."

The Scarecrow remained calm and grabbed his opponents neck with his fear powder containing gloves. The thug immediately backed off and made himself as small as he possibly could, looking terrified towards the man he had just attacked. "That's more like it," the Scarecrow said in his creepy voice, "now, who do you work for?"

The bigger man trembled as the Scarecrow came closer. "Th-th-the Joker", he stuttered.

"The Joker, now-now, and you're calling me a freak. What is he up to?"

"H-h-he's g-going for Gordon, w-where it hurts th-the most. I s-swear that's all I n-know. P-please d-don't hurt me."

Unbeknownst to both men, they weren't on their own though. Robin had overheard their conversation from a nearby rooftop. "Get to Gordon, where it would hurt him the most", he said to himself as he thought of what it could mean, "oh no! These guys will have to wait, I gotta go to Barbara's!"

**Barbara Gordon's apartment**

_Knock, knock_

Barbara Gordon looked up from the book she was reading. Who could that be? Neither Dick nor her father had made a habit of paying her unexpected visits. Well Dick did sometimes, though never at this hour. Oh well, maybe one of them had left something important at her place and had only just figured it out. She went to the door in her night-dress, it's not like her father or Dick would have a problem with it. "I'm coming", she said. She opened the door, keeping the safety lock at its place. "Forgotten something?", she asked as she watched through the chink. It wasn't Dick at the door though, nor her father or anyone else she knew. Four men she didn't recognize at first sight were standing at the door. The moment she opened the door, a gas entered her room, making her feel drowsy and yet completely awake. _What is this_, she thought, _some sick combination of morphine and caffeine?_ She tried to close the door, but it got kicked in smashing her onto the floor. She watched the men come in. Three of them were quite corpulent, one of them was even taller than the other two. The fourth was thin and tall, and quite pale. He wore a long coat and a hat.

"Good evening, Miss Gordon," the fourth man said, "lovely night, isn't it?" Barbara recognized him now, it was the Joker. Out of his pocket he took what looked like a Polaroid camera. "Smile", he said as he took a picture of Barbara lying on the floor. Afterwards he took a seat and watched her. "Have fun with her boys, whaahahaha."

Barbara made herself as small as she possibly could as the three henchmen brutally kicked her. She wanted to scream, but was too weak to do so. One of the man pulled her up and punched her in the jaw as the others tore off her clothes. Every moment of it was photographed by the Joker. Eventually the two smaller henchmen forced her in a face down position on the table. She could hear the bigger man loosen up his belt. Barbara cried, why was this happening to her. She tried to think of good times, but the straitened circumstances made it hard for her to do so. She prepared for the worst, when she suddenly heard the sound of breaking glass. The men's attention immediately diverted from the girl lying on the table to the Boy Wonder standing in the middle of the room. They weren't a match for him though, and all three of them were rapidly beaten and tied up. He helped Barbara stand up from the table and wrapped her in his cape to cover up her nudity.

"Are you OK?", he asked.

The answer to this question was obvious, as she had never felt less OK in her entire life. Yet she murmured "yes", as she leaned against him. It wasn't the first time he had saved her life, yet this time she was especially grateful that he came in time.

Suddenly a slow clapping could be heard. "How touching", the Joker, who had been enjoying the whole show, said as he stood up, "My compliments to the writer, producer and director. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Especially the ending where the hero gives his coat to the girl as she was clearly cold. It's so knightly, I could almost cry." His finger gently moved underneath his eye as if he were wiping away a tear. Soon his maniacal laughter filled the entire room however as he put both of his hands back into his pockets.

"Give up, Joker", Robin yelled at the clown prince of crime, "you can't escape, your forces won't be helping you."

"Aye, I guess you just can't find good help these days. But give up, I'm afraid you're confusing me with someone else, whaahahaha." The Joker's right hand emerged from his pocket clearly holding his Joker-gun.

Robin leaped towards him forcing him against the wall with his right arm and holding the Joker's hand with his left. "Your game is over, Joker."

"Au contraire, Birdboy, it has merely begun."

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the room. Confused as to where it could come from Robin looked back. He let go of the Joker the moment he noticed Barbara lying unconscious in a growing pool of blood. The Joker took a step forward and grabbed the Polaroid pictures he had taken. Smoke emerged from the newly formed hole in his coat pocket. "You know, I always thought red suited your cape better, you can thank me later, whahahaha", were his last words as he jumped out of the broken window and ran off via the fire escape.


	4. Chapter 3: Broken Boy Wonder

**Notes: here's chapter three. As I promised there is a reader poll with this one (but it's closed now). Read on until the end to find out what it is. You can give your opinion as always. As always I don't own anything nor do I earn money or any other kind of goods.**

Chapter III Broken Boy Wonder

The Joker ran through the streets laughing as maniacally as he always did. The alleys were dark as most of the street lanterns had been smashed by youth-gangs. Apart from the Joker the streets were empty though. Even considering their youthful stupidity, gang members knew better than to meddle with the clown prince of crime. There seemed to be an exception though as the Joker noticed a silhouette appear in the dark. He slowed down as he approached it.

"Good evening, Joker", it said in a creepy voice, "you seem to be having a lot of fun."

"Well, I'll be damned, John the Scarecrow Crane, it's been forever. You seem to have gained a few pounds since the last time I saw you Johnny-boy, hehehe."

The Scarecrow looked confused. They had already seen each other the same day at Arkham, only moments before they escaped. Furthermore he was practically skin and bones. "Err… Would you care the share the joke with me?", he asked.

"Oh Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, let's just say the first step of my master plan was an overthrowing success, mehehehehe, you'd be happy for less."

"This master plan of yours, does it require some fearsome input?" The Scarecrow stressed the word fear as he said it, hoping the Joker would understand what he was getting at.

"Who knows", was the clown's reply, "you might wanna do something about the mask though."

"Why?"

"Because you don't scare me for a bit! Whaahahahahaha!", the Joker said as he ran off, leaving the Scarecrow flabbergasted.

**Above the rooftops**

Robin immediately fired his grapple gun as he landed. It was tightly bound to his left hand. He needed his strongest arm to carry Barbara and couldn't take any risks. The girl was still covered in his cape. He kept her as close to him as he could in order to maintain the pressure on the entry wound in her abdomen. He used his right arm to keep the exit wound under pressure. She was still breathing, albeit faintly and irregular. Nevertheless her respiration set him at ease. He looked at her as he took off again. Her face was full of cuts and bruises. It was a shock for him to see her like that, the contrast with the beautiful laughing face he knew was too big. _Why would anyone do this to her?_, he asked himself, _How sick do you have …_ The thought stopped, he knew the answer to both questions, and yet he couldn't understand it. Even if it was the Joker, of whom he knew that he could easily outcompete the sickest thing a person could possibly think of, he just couldn't understand it. "You're gonna be alright, Babs", he whispered, "I promise". It was hard to swing between the buildings using only one hand. He had to land every time between two swings. Sometimes he'd use the break to steady his grip on the unconscious girl. A sign stating "Thomas Wayne Memorial" showed up. _Finally_, he thought. The automatic door opened right in time as the Boy Wonder swung through it. Dr. Leslie Thompkins had seen it happen from behind her desk and looked up shocked.

"Robin?!", she exclamated.

"This is an emergency, Leslie, shot wound, Barbara Gordon, very weak respiration!"

"I'll call the surgeons immediately, put her on the stretcher!"

Robin obeyed and kept pressurizing both of Barbara's wounds. "Be careful, Leslie, she's got an exit wound too."

"I've got it", she said as she took over from Robin, "you'd better leave it to us now. She's in good hands."

"I know, I'll be on the roof for a while, I need to contact Batman", Robin said as he took the elevator up. He untied his grapple gun and attached it to his belt. All the swinging had taken a lot of his strength. Once he reached the roof he turned on his communicator. "Batman, this is Robin, do you read?", he started. The shock and grief could clearly be heard in his voice.

"_This is Batman, go on._"

"Go to commissioner Gordon as soon as you can. The Joker and his men just abused and shot Barbara. He took pictures of every part of the process. I had to let him go in order to save Babs. His plan is to get Gordon where it hurts the most … oh and there's a chance the Scarecrow has joined him, I also had to let him go when I found out about the Joker's plan. Harley Quinn wo…"

"… _has teamed up with Poison Ivy, I know. I'm on my way to Gordon now. Batman out._"

"Robin?" Robin heard a kind voice behind him. "She's being operated at this moment", Leslie said, "I also called her father."

Robin nodded thankfully. "I should have stopped him, Les, I should have but I didn't."

"What happened?"

"The Joker pulled out his Joker-gun," Robin sobbed, "I disarmed him by forcing him against the wall with one arm and holding his hand with the other. He had a regular gun in his other hand … his hand never even left his pocket." Tears appeared from underneath his mask.

Leslie saw the young man cry. She has always admired Dick's ability to show emotions. Unlike Bruce he did know anger, happiness and grief. She often wished Bruce would get some of Dick's traits, but as of yet it has always been in vain. Luckily Dick hadn't taken over Bruce's stern and emotionless temper and she admired him for it. "She means a great deal to you, doesn't she?", she said as she laid her hand on his shoulder.

"She does"

"Listen to me, Dick, it wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could do about it, if anything your quick reaction has saved her life."

"If …"

"Don't even dare to think like that!", Leslie interrupted and continued in a gentler tone, "she'll be alright, Dick, and you'll be her hero. I don't want you to think any other way. Now I'll have to check on my other patients, you can stay here to think things over if you like."

Robin wiped away his tears and faintly smiled at his guardian's guardian. "Thanks, Les."

"That's what I'm here for."

**Gotham Police Station**

Commissioner James Gordon immediately grabbed his coat when he received Leslie's phone call. He quickly explained the situation to his deputy, who gladly stood in for him. He rushed towards the exit only to notice the door was locked. "What the … this door shouldn't be locked", he said to himself while looking for his key. Whistling emerged behind him. He recognized the tune immediately. There was only one person he knew, that constantly whistled this tune. "Can't you bother me some other time, Joker, I've got important arrangements to attend."

"Oh no, Jimmy", the Joker replied as he knocked out the commissioner, "the time has never been better, hmhmhmhahahaha whaahahahaha!" The Joker opened the door and dragged the commissioner out, only to be kicked back in. "I already wondered when you'd show up, Batsy."

"Abusing and shooting an innocent girl, only to get at her father, and I thought you couldn't get any sicker, Joker", the Dark Knight preached.

"You, out of all people, should know that I'm full of surprises", the Joker replied.

Much to the Batman's surprise the Joker didn't do anything after that reply. He didn't throw razor-sharp playing-cards at him, nor did he squirt acid towards him. He didn't do a thing. All that happened was …

"Looking for something?", a menacing voice behind him said.

As Batman turned around he was covered in a white aerosol. As the mist lifted he made direct eye contact with what appeared to be a corpse wearing a gallows' noose around his neck. The corpse was alive however and walked towards him. The Dark Knight was terrified as it hit him and kicked him in the stomach.

"Well done, Johnny-boy", the Joker interfered, "now let's go. We've got what we need." The two criminals ran off with the commissioner, while the laughter of the Joker echoed in the area.

The laughter faded away. Batman crawled into a corner. He had to think. He had never seen the man that attacked him nor did his voice ring a bell. How could it be that he was so afraid of him. He remembered what Robin had told him about the Scarecrow. Could it really have been him? It'd make sense as he obviously used a fear toxin on him, why else would he be so scared? His clothing and posture also matched the Scarecrow's. He searched his utility belt for the antidote. After taking it in, he pulled himself together. The two criminals were long gone though, as was James Gordon.

**Reader poll: Well Barbara's in hospital, obviously she'll be thouroughly examined. Now how about we add a tad bit to the drama by making her pregnant. I initially wasn't planning on doing this but I thought it would go nicely with the story. Whether she'll expell the embryo or not might be a next reader poll, who knows. Anyway you can tell me your preferences via a review. I hope to be reading them soon.**


	5. Chapter 4: End of a rough night

**Chapter 4 has arrived. The night is coming to an end and it's been far from productive. As always I don't own anything. Enjoy and please review**

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Chapter IV End of a rough night

**Somewhere underground**

Commissioner Gordon regained consciousness, his head was killing him. His arms and legs were tied to a chair in an extremely moist room. The first thing he noticed was the sound of constantly dripping water drops. What _drop_ was he _drop_ doing _drop_ here _drop_. He had to _drop_ go to _drop_ Barbara _drop_, she had been _drop_ shot _drop_ and was _drop_ in hospital _drop_. The annoying sound prevented him to concentrate. He looked around. Through what he thought was a door opening he saw two silhouettes talking to each other. He seemed to recognize one of them, but who was it. He suddenly remembered as he saw the man's grin. He had been abducted by the Joker. He tried to distinguish what both men were saying from the background noise.

"I see you took my advice about a new look, Johnny-boy, you even added a voice deformer to gain some … effect. Very nice indeed, hehehe", the Joker said.

The Scarecrow barely paid attention to the Joker's words. "How long do we have to stay in this filthy place?", he asked clearly annoyed.

"As long as we have to, Johnny, as long as we have too", the Joker replied, "what's the matter? Don't tell me the master of fear himself is afraid of some water and rats, hmhmhmhm."

The Scarecrow grumbled in disapproval. He looked around and noticed something. "Looks like someone has just woken up."

"Ah!", the Joker reacted happily and walked towards the tied up commissioner. "Good morning, sleepyhead", he started, "welcome to Gotham's new Hilton".

"Pl…", Gordon interrupted him, but he was soon stopped by the Joker.

"Uh-uh, don't you know it's impolite to interrupt people when they're talking? … Anyway, what I was saying. Do you hear that sound?" He referred to the falling water droplets. "Drip … drip … drip", he mockingly said, "This technique has already been in use since the Middle Ages. It prove to be a very effective way to drive someone insane. Even the toughest minds would eventually be broken and all you need is a bit of water. Isn't it brilliant? … Apparently they also let the droplets fall onto the victim's head from time to time, but I've been told that might kill you. Now we wouldn't want that to happen, now, would we? Not after all the fun time we had together." The Joker pinched Gordon's cheek as he said this last sentence. "Now, what were you saying?"

"Please, Joker, my daughter's in hospital. I have to see her. You must have a heart somewhere."

The Joker turned around and laughed as if he hadn't heard a word of what the worried man just said. "I do, it just works a little different than yours, whaahaha", were his last as he slammed the poorly carpentered planks that were supposed to be a door, leaving his victim in the sole company of the constantly dripping water droplets.

**Roof of the Thomas Wayne Memorial**

The Dark Knight landed swiftly on the roof of the hospital. He saw Robin sitting against the chimney. His head was buried in his hands. "I thought I'd find you here", Batman opened.

Robin looked up. He didn't say a thing.

"Listen …", Batman resumed

Robin stood up. "What?!", he yelled angrily, "Are you gonna preach me … on how I should have caught the Joker and the Scarecrow. Well guess what, I let them go, both of them. I know my priorities. They might differ from yours, but that's what they are and that's what they will remain!"

"Robin …"

"Oh wait, maybe you want to tell me that I should have seen it coming. I should have prevented the Joker from shooting Barbara. Well I'm sorry I don't have X-ray vision, Mr. Perfect! I already disarmed one of his hands. His other hand never even left his pocket. How was I supposed to …"

"Robin, listen to me!" It worked. Though the angry look on Robin's face didn't fade away. "Listen to me. You did what you had to do and there was no way you could have foreseen the Joker's actions. You did the right thing! If anyone screwed up today it's me. You told me the Scarecrow might have teamed up with the Joker and I forgot about it. They got away, with the commissioner because I forgot about your warning. I'm far from perfect."

Robin's feelings of anger transformed into surprise. It was nothing like his guardian to show so much emotions. The words were said in a rather cold intonation to his own standards, but still. "I'm sorry", he murmured, "I just can't take it".

"Don't be", Batman replied as he tapped Robin on the shoulder. It was only a small gesture, as he never really was good at this fatherly stuff. Robin knew this all too well. He knew Bruce wasn't the person to hug anyone, even if he did realize that it was what he should do. He knew this was about as big a step as Bruce would take and he appreciated it. Often had he thought of quitting this job, of 

getting away from the manipulative control freak Batman was, but he knew that deep down Bruce did care for him. This fact always prevented him from actually throwing the towel in the ring, well this fact alongside the fact that he knew that he couldn't miss it. As hard as being a crime fighter, especially Batman's sidekick, could be, he loved doing it.

The door behind them opened and Leslie appeared. "The operation has finished", she said.

Robin looked up, he didn't realize he had been here for so long. "And?", he asked.

"The damage to her internal organs is quite superficial, some minor damage to her liver and her intestine. Apart from that she has some broken ribs, but she'll be perfectly fine once she has recuperated. Her condition is still critical however, as she has lost a substantial amount of blood. It's a good thing you acted immediately, Robin, she might not have made it, had you waited. Anyway, there's nothing more for you to do here. I'll check up on her and do a complete examination, but it's mostly up to her now. The best thing for you to do is to go to bed, you had a rough day, you can visit her once she's stabile." She turned to Batman: "I'm still waiting for her father though, any idea what's taking him so long?"

"Kidnapped", the Dark Knight replied, "by the Joker."

The older lady looked shocked. "Good god … I hope you'll find him soon. I'll check up on the girl now", Leslie said as she went back down.

"What do we do now?", Robin asked.

"We'll do as Leslie said. We go to bed and try to get some rest, especially you. As I can't let Bane find out about my secret identity, I'll have to keep up my double life as well as I can, so sleep will be scarce. You can sleep as long as you need, no one will miss a college student during a holiday period. And if you happen to wake up during the day, you could try to find out how our muscled friend escaped. Sigh. We still have a lot of work to do, it's a good thing Harley and Ivy are already back where they belong." In the east the first rays of sunlight started to show up. It had been a long night. The first of many that were yet to come. Both men fired their grapple guns. they had no idea how they would survive the next couple of nights, but they knew that they had to. With this final thought indelibly engraved on their minds, they disappeared into the dying night.


	6. Chapter 5: Knight of the Day

**Notes: This chapter is a long one, enjoy. I still don't own any character in this story.**

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Chapter V Knight of the day

**Gotham's "Hilton"**

Jonathan Crane looked at the pictures lying on the mouldering table. Disgusting, that's what they were, absolutely nauseating. What sickened him even more was the fact that the Joker seemed to enjoy them. It wasn't the only thing on his mind though. "I still don't understand …", he said.

"What is there not to understand? It makes perfect sense to me.", the Joker replied.

Crane rolled his eyes. He could have seen this reply coming. _That explains why it doesn't make sense to me then_, he thought. Nevertheless he specified his problem. "I don't understand why we're not using a bigger dose of fear toxin."

"We're trying to drive Gordon insane, right?"

The Scarecrow just nodded. He still didn't understand what the Joker was aiming at.

"As the master of fear you should know that fear is a completely rational emotion. It's the feeling to get yourself out of a harmful situation. There's nothing more rational than that, now, is there?", the Joker continued, "If the dose of fear toxin would be too high, fear would overshadow all his emotions. And that's what we need to drive him insane: emotions! And believe me, they'll be intense, especially after I showed him these masterpieces, hehehehaha." He pointed to the photographs. "We mustn't forget, though, that this IS Gordon we're talking about. A small dose of fear toxin might intensify his feelings and force him to give in to pessimism."

Crane was surprised, it actually did make sense. He wasn't satisfied with the explanation though. "Why don't we just overdose him. He'll get delusional … not to mention paranoid! A mind can only take so much."

"Now what would be the fun of that?"

"Why do we have to do things the hard way?"

"Because we can, Johnny-boy, because we can. Surely you too must be thrilled to see what the effects of a small dose would be."

It was true. The Scarecrow never did experiment with doses that were too small to completely consume someone with fear. What would the results be? He had to know. A smile appeared on his face. The Joker had triggered his scientific curiosity.

"Very well", the Joker said as he grabbed the Polaroid pictures, "let's check up on our guest. Put on your mask."

James Gordon looked up as he saw the door open. He hadn't closed an eye during the entire night. How could he? He thought about Barbara the whole night. The constantly falling water droplets weren't much help either. The two former Arkham inmates entered the room. "Room service", the Joker said, "I trust you had a good night. If not, you can always write down your complaints and put them in the letterbox at the check-in. Heh."

The commissioner looked up. _Why now_, he thought, _why out of all days did it have to be this particular day?_ He knew the Joker would never give in to his pleas, but what else could he do. "Please Joker", he begged, "my daughter's been shot."

"I know", the Joker replied, "I was there." The look on Gordon's face immediately transformed into anger. "You had a rough day, didn't you Jim", the Joker continued with a faked empathic voice, "Bane escapes, the majority of Gotham's criminally insane simply walks out of Arkham and now your daughter. Life's just not fair, is it John?"

"Tell me about it", the Scarecrow replied as he clapped his gloves and blew the dust into Gordon's face. The commissioner coughed. The expression on his face changed again. The toxin was working. Even though the shivering could barely be noticed, its sound was music to Crane's ear. He thoroughly observed the symptoms the commissioner started to show. He was clearly afraid, but it wasn't the inmates or anything else in the room that seemed to scare him. It had to be a fear that he already held in him, the fear of losing his daughter, of never seeing his little girl again.

The Joker just went on with his story: "I have to say, Gordy, you have a very fine daughter. Such a delicious body." He started showing the snapshots he took of the abuse. Gordon tried to look away, he didn't want to see it, but the Joker forced them upon him. "Too bad her skin was so awfully monochrome, but then again that was nothing my brainless thugs couldn't solve. Don't you think she looks way nicer this way? Almost like a leopard, black spots on a pale background." James Gordon started to cry as the Joker showed him the picture of his daughter. She was naked and covered in bruises. "The problem with brainless thugs is … they just don't know when to stop, do they?", the Joker continued as he showed the commissioner the picture of Barbara being forced on the table, ready for the final humiliation. "I'll spare you the rest. Well, you know the rest. I tried to put her out of her misery, but unfortunately some kind of Birdboy interfered, causing my aim to be slightly off. Hence, I'm afraid her demise will be a slow and painful one. … No wait, Birdboy took her to a hospital", suddenly his voice sounded very cheerful though it soon changed back to the grim tone it was, "Oh, who am I fooling, all hospitals do is prolong the suffering."

James Gordon just sat there, shivering and not saying a word. Tears were in his eyes. The small dose of fear toxin had made him extremely susceptible to the Joker's words. "No!", he yelled eventually, "No, no, no, no, no! NOOOOOOO!"

The Joker laughed maniacally. His plan was succeeding. "I'll hang these on the wall", he said as he hung the pictures of Barbara across the room, "they'll be a nice decoration for your room, whaahahahaha!"

**Haly's circus**

Dick Grayson stood on the highest platform of the circus pole, holding the trapeze. Every seat in the circus was taken and he was clearly nervous. He didn't know why though. He had already done this a million times. The lights dimmed, a single spotlight was aimed at the centre of the ring. The exact spot where the ringmaster stood.

"Ladies and Gentleman", the ringmaster commenced, "Now the act that you have all been waiting for. A performance so spectacular that it looks as if the performers can actually fly. I present to you the fabulous, the fantastic, the two and only flying G's!"

The light went out as two others were turned on. One focusing on Dick, the other focusing on Barbara who stood on the opposite pole. A roll of drums emerged as they both departed. At first they just switched trapezes simultaneously. The crowd applauded, but it went berserk when Dick performed his quadruple somersault and grabbed Barbara's ankles. The girl swiftly swung the lad back, who grabbed his trapeze with his knees after doing another double somersault. Barbara then flew towards him with a triple somersault and reached for his hands. She missed. How could she miss? They had done this a million times. The pale, green haired crowd laughed maniacally as Barbara fell into the bottomless pit in the middle of the circus ring. All Dick could do was watch her disappear into oblivion and scream.

**3pm, Wayne Manor**

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Dick Grayson woke up. He looked around. This wasn't the circus. It was his room, his room at the manor. He saw a poster hanging on his wall. The poster of Haly's special Christmas Eve performance. The poster Barbara had given to him for Christmas. "Barbara", he softly said. He still couldn't understand why it had happened. Why another person that was dear to him was being ripped away from him. No, it couldn't happen, he wouldn't let it happen. His fist hit the soft bed. He threw away the blankets and left his bed. He didn't feel like making up his bed, like Alfred had taught him, not now. He brushed his teeth, took a shower and got dressed, only thinking of one thing, or rather one person: Barbara. He went down the stairs. He didn't use the banisters as he often did and of which Alfred had always disapproved. He didn't feel like it.

"Good afternoon, Master Dick", Alfred said as the young man arrived, "I spared you some breakfast."

"No thanks, Alfred, breakfast time is over anyway", Dick lifelessly replied.

"Really, Master Dick, I must insist. Whether you want to call it breakfast, lunch or brunch, you have to eat. Especially under the given circumstances."

Dick shrugged. He knew Alfred was right and that he was always very persistent on these matters. He went to the staff's eating quarters as he didn't feel like sitting on his own at this big dining-table in that big dining-room. The butler offered him a traditional English breakfast with bacon, beans sausage and eggs. Besides that he received several buns, muffins and croissants. Much to his own surprise he ate everything. "Thanks, Al", he said. The meal had done him more good than he thought.

"Don't mention it, Master Dick", the older man replied, "Now if you don't mind me asking, I heard you scream. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Nightmare", Dick sighed, "Well, a daymare actually."

Alfred smiled. Even under the given circumstance, Dick had kept a faint sense of humour. "You might feel better if you actually talk about it."

"Oh why not", Dick said, "It's pretty much the same one as I had when I first moved in here. You know, the one with the circus. Only it wasn't my parents, it was Barbara who fell. … And all the crowd did was laugh at it."

"Let me tell you something, Dick." The boy looked up, Alfred rarely addressed him with just his first name. "When you first moved in, I was afraid you'd become just like Bruce, bitter. But you were different, stronger. You regained your lust for life, and I still thank heaven for that. Whatever obstacle crosses your path, you can overcome it. As long as you don't give in to despair."

Dick thought about Alfred's words. He realized they were true. Despair wasn't going to help Barbara, was it? "Thanks, Alfie." He left the room and headed for the living room. "Guess I've got some work to do", he said as he approached the old clock and turned its hands to 12 o'clock.

"Work, Master Dick?", Alfred questioned, "At this hour?"

"Afraid so, Alfred", Dick replied as he went down the stairs, "Daytime is the only time the escapees will give us a break to find out more about the escape itself." He put on his Kevlar suit and combed and gelled his hair into Robin's haircut. The golden interior of his new cape shattered the light across 

the cave, clearly annoying some of that bats. He turned on the computer. "Now, the CCTV clearly showed Bane smashing the walls with his bare hands. This means someone must have supplied him with Venom. Probably someone with a substantial knowledge of chemistry." He searched the computer's database for people with resources in chemistry. Five entries were highlighted. "Well we can exclude John Crane as he was in Arkham at the time", he thought out loudly, "Daggett's in jail, Emile Dorian is assumed to be dead and Kirk Langstrom is only on this list because he turned into Man-Bat once. There's no way he would send Bane after us. … Hmmm, Achilles Milo. … Has been involved with Daggett. Was eventually arrested in a doping scandal around Anthony Romulus, whom he had turned into a werewolf. Spent a year in jail, but was released in appeal due to lack of evidence. Criminal record got erased and he got a substantial compensation. … Sport dope, I'd say he's our best lead so far. What do you think Alfred?"

"Really, Master Dick, can't you keep your cape clean for just one day?", Alfred sarcastically replied.

"Who says it's gonna be dirty? … Oh damn, I knew it was too good to be true. We don't have a recent address for Milo. He apparently left Gotham after his release." Robin sighed. What could he do now? He printed Milo's picture and took his bike. "Maybe I can find out more about this case at Stonegate. I'll try to be back in time for dinner Alfred!", he yelled as he drove off.

**Stonegate penitentiary**

"Yup, that's the guy", the guard said as Robin showed him the picture, "some kind of doctor, can't remember what his name was though."

"Achilles Milo?", Robin asked.

"That's it: Milo! He came about a week ago. It had something to do with Bane's mother. She was dying and wanted to get back in touch with her son before it was too late or something like that. He even brought a cake."

Robin was thinking. Could this cake have been Bane's source of Venom? No wait, it couldn't be, Venom had to be injected directly into his brain to have any effect. But then again, Milo was a chemist, he could have engineered it in such a way that it worked via the digestive tract. Or maybe there was some Venom-powder on it that Bane could have sniffed in, that would have gotten it directly into his brain. "Could this cake have been the source of Bane's regained strength?", Robin asked the guard.

"I don't think so sir, we all had a piece of that cake, and neither of us has become super strong. Could have been handy though."

"Could he have smuggled some crumbs or sugar into his cell?"

"Nope, he ate his piece and washed his hands. All he took with him was the note, but it was definitely clean."

"Note?"

"Yeah, it contained the address and phone number where he could reach his mother."

"You don't happen to remember the address by any chance, do you?"

"I'm afraid not, it was a Gotham address though. Southwestern zip, I think."

Robin sank away in his thoughts. Daggett Industries used to have a lab in the southwestern industrial area. It was worth the try to check it out. "I think that's all I need to know for know", he broke the silence, "Thanks."

"You're welcome, sir", the guard replied as Robin left the building.

Robin drove top speed to the southwestern industrial area. His cape waved behind him like a black and gold flag. It felt odd to be driving in costume in full daylight. He couldn't remember whether he had ever done it before. It was unlikely though, as he had no memory of his cape reflecting so much light. It made him realize that he might actually look scarier and more impressive in the daylight than at night. The thought quickly faded away though as he reached his destination: Daggett Industries Biomedical Laboratory. Even though Daggett Industries had gone bankrupt several months ago, there was clearly activity in the lab. He entered the building quietly via the east entrance. He saw the professor combine some liquids. The man was too concentrated to notice the Boy Wonder. "This lab is impressively active for a bankrupt one."

Milo turned around startled, but immediately looked back. Scared away from the blinding bundle of light that had just spoken to him. "Who the hell are you supposed to be?", he asked with a cramped face, "the sun warrior?"

"You can call me the Boy Wonder", Robin replied stepping out of the light.

"You crime fighters just don't know when to stop, do you? I was declared innocent!"

"But were you really, professor Milo?"

"That's what the court said."

"Then what are you doing in this lab?"

"This is my lab, in a way, even though Daggett owns it. But it's not like he'll be needing it any time soon."

Robin looked around in the lab. Soon he noticed some chemical compounds. "Those are the main components of Venom, no?", he asked.

"They are."

"Still in the dope business, Milo, hardly legal, is it?"

"There is nothing illegal in creating new enhancing products. It might not fit in with your conscience, but as long as they're not on the list there's nothing wrong with the products, nor with the money I earn with it. And who knows, maybe the army might be interested in it. This is definitely going to create a cash flow to my bank account and whether you like it or not, it will be completely legal!"

"Venom is illegal, Milo"

"Yes, Venom is. But I've created something different, it's based on Venom, but it's different nonetheless." He grabbed some pills. "These Venom-pills, I still have to find a suitable name, can be 

taken in orally and are spread in the circulatory system via digestion. Only disadvantage is that it takes a while to gain effect. Here have one, be my guest." He tossed a pill at Robin, who simply let it fall on the floor.

"No thanks, I don't know what the side effects are." Even though he tried not to show it, Robin was clearly disgusted with Milo's arrogance. "You said there was a delay on the effects. How long? A week?"

"At first, yes, but I managed to reduce it by looking into the biotransformation cycle."

The Boy Wonder turned around. He knew for sure Milo was responsible for the escape, yet he had no way of proving it. Suddenly a small mill caught his eye. Next to it were a bag of cocoa beans and a bag of sugar. "You a big fan of chocolate, professor?"

"Oh yeah, I love to make it myself. When I buy someone a cake I often make a chocolate oval with his name, it makes the cake special, even though you haven't actually made it."

The arrogance was too much for Robin. Milo had just said exactly how he busted Bane out of jail without confessing. The Boy Wonder's tone completely shifted to anger as he grabbed Milo by the collar. "Listen to me professor, the man that just escaped, using your goods, has set pretty much every dangerously insane criminal of Gotham free. One of which has already abused and shot an innocent girl and kidnapped her father!"

"I really don't see how this involves me", Milo coldly replied, "Have you actually got proof?"

Robin pushed him off. "I know you're involved in this and you may believe it or not, but I will prove it and you will go down!" Robin picked up the pill the professor threw at him and put it in his utility belt. Without looking back, he left the building and got on his bike. He headed back to the Batcave as fast as he could. He had to inform Bruce on this.

**Bruce Wayne's office, Wayne Tower**

_DRING … DRING … DRING_

Bruce Wayne laid down the file he was looking into and picked up the phone. "Bruce Wayne", he said.

"It's me", Robin replied.

"Yes, Dick?"

"I just visited your old friend Achilles Milo. I have to say I'm surprised his ego didn't burst out of his body."

"Sure sounds like him."

"Yeah, would you believe he told me everything without actually confessing, ugh. Anyway I'll try to keep it short: you won't be able to defeat Bane the way you did last time."

Bruce suddenly looked shocked. "What do you mean, Dick?"

"Well, the humble professor, ahem, created Venom based pills that can be taken in orally. He actually gave me one, I'm analyzing it right now. I also recorded the conversation, though I'm afraid it's not enough to get him behind bars."

The worry could clearly be read from Bruce's face. The only weak spot he knew Bane had, was no longer available. What could he do now. He eventually broke the silence: "Dick, if you'd like to take a break, considering Barbara's situation, I would understand." His voice changed to Batman's voice: "In fact I'd prefer it if you did."

"O…K", Robin replied in a clearly annoyed voice, "Bye Bruce."

"Goodbye Dick." Bruce had noticed the annoyance in Dick's voice. Maybe he should have told him that he simply didn't want to risk his foster son's life.

**The Batcave**

Robin angrily turned off the speakers of the Batcomputer with his fist. "No good job Dick, no thanks for finding that out Dick! Who the hell does he think he is? … He doesn't want my help, fine! He won't get it, I've got better things to do."

Alfred had come down in the mean time. He had been reluctant to speak because of Robin's sudden outburst of anger. "Master Dick?", he shyly started.

Robin took a deep breath as he rubbed his hands up his face into his hair. "Yes Alfred?", he replied in a much calmer tone, albeit not completely rid of anger.

"I came down to inform you that dinner will be served in ten minutes and that dr. Thompkins would like to speak to you, she's on line 1."


	7. Chapter 6: A new hope, or is it?

**This is chapter 6, not the longest nor the most action-filled one, chapter 7 will be arriving shortly (in fact I even finished chapter 8, but I have no idea how to start 9). As always I don't own or earn anything.**

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Chapter VI A new hope, or is it

Dick was driving as fast as he was allowed. He wouldn't risk losing any time talking to the police, but he wanted to see her as soon as possible. Leslie had said Barbara was stabile, even though she might still be unconscious for quite a while. He would have left as soon as he heard the news, but he didn't want to disrespect Alfred, who had just prepared him a meal. He knew Bruce had done this plenty of times before, but he wasn't like Bruce. He respected the efforts others had done for him. But what could be expected from a person that has been taken care of for his entire life? He was different, he knew what work was, chores were a daily matter when he was in the circus. Besides Leslie had told him that she wouldn't regain consciousness in the next couple of hours, probably not even within the day. Hence there was no harm in leaving a bit later, in order to eat some of Alfred's roasted duck. It was his specialty and Dick loved it. Somehow Alfred always managed to surprise him with the taste, as if he actually knew a million recipes for it. Well he probably even did, and they all tasted wonderful. It made Dick forget about his little, well you couldn't really call it a dispute as they barely spoke, with Bruce. He didn't want to think of it, not now. He knew where he was needed. He had to be there when Barbara woke up, as her father probably wasn't going to make it in time. She had to know that she wasn't on her own in this battle, that he would be there for her no matter what happened. He parked his car in front of the Wayne Memorial. It was a rather cheap car. Certainly not the type one would expect the average inhabitant of Wayne Manor to drive. But then again such a vehicle probably wouldn't even survive the night in this area. He still wondered why he went by car. He usually took his motorbike for these trips, when the weather would allow it and today the sky was completely clear. It came in very handy too, as he had used the sun to intimidate Milo. Maybe he had thought at the moment that he might take Barbara back home, even though it was a crazy thought as Barbara would probably be in hospital for at least another week. Or maybe he just didn't want to risk visiting Barbara as a roommate, even though his riding skills definitely weren't bad. He didn't know, nor did it matter. He wanted to see Barbara and he wanted to know what Leslie had to say. On the phone she had said that she needed to tell him something important. He hoped it wouldn't be anything bad. She had said the night before that there wouldn't be any permanent damage. Maybe she was wrong, maybe complications had arisen. No, he couldn't think that way. Barbara would be fine, or would she? Of course she would, she's a fighter and he should know! For how long has he known her now? Several years at least, they even went to high school together, and she always had spirit. That's what attracted him in the first place. Her spirit. No matter how hard, how impossible even, her situation was, she would never give up and he admired her deeply for this. This situation wouldn't be anything different, she'd fight like a lioness and in the end she'd be victorious. That's how he knew his Babs. Her wounds would be begging her for mercy in no time, well in a figure of speech at least. He knew she would be all right. Dick entered the hospital. He saw Leslie at the information desk. She often sat there when she was on duty. "Hey Leslie", Dick greeted her, "What's the important news you wanted to tell me?"

"Hi Dick", Leslie replied, "I think we'd better discuss this in private. My office?"

Dick started to look more worried. This couldn't be good, could it? "Why?", he asked, "Has anything bad happened to her?"

"No no, she's fine", Leslie reassured him, "but the news might still come as a shock though." She turned towards a nurse that was drinking coffee. "Steven, could you take over for a while?"

"Sure Les", he replied.

"Thanks" Her attention turned back to Dick, whom she motioned to follow her. She opened the door to her office. It wasn't big but it had the necessary accommodation. On her desk was a picture of the Wayne family. "Have a seat", she said, "Coffee?"

"No thanks", Dick replied as he sat down, "I just had dinner."

Leslie took a seat behind her desk. "Well, let's get to the point then. … As you know, we thoroughly examined Barbara for anything that could be or go wrong. I think you'll be quite happy to know that she hasn't been sexually assaulted."

"Guess I was just in time to prevent that from happening. They sure were up to it."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it. … Anyway … I already told you that she hasn't got any wounds that she won't recover from eventually. The examination did expose an odd result though." Dick's eyes widened. What could it have been? Would it be serious? He was all ears as Leslie continued. "Her hormonal activity differed significantly from what we had expected. We double-checked and looked into it of course, and our suspicions were confirmed: she's pregnant, Dick."

Dick's mouth fell wide open as he heard the news. Pregnant? Now that was a surprise to say the least. "So …", he shyly broke the silence, "I'm going to be a father."

"Now, don't start raising your hopes too soon, Dick. She's only in an early stage, two weeks at most. She probably doesn't even know it herself and I have to ask you not to tell her either. About sixty percent of the pregnancies abort in this early stage. Considering Barbara's recent trauma the chance that she will do so too is quite high. She has to concentrate on her own recovery for the time being. If she wastes too much energy on a cause that might be lost anyhow, it might harm her more than it helps. That's why she mustn't know yet, so don't tell her and certainly don't touch her belly, I know men have a tendency to do that. She'll notice immediately. Keep in mind she's been shot in the abdomen, if you'd ever get tempted."

"What about her father? She'll definitely notice there's something wrong. I don't think we'll be able to keep that from her."

"I know. Just hope she doesn't ask and tell her if she does."

"OK, can I see her now?"

"Of course, I'll take you to her room.


	8. Chapter 7: The Awakening

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**This capter is a bit longer. I tried to add some action into it, a hard thing as a lot of action easily gets boring in writing. But I added a paragraph for people who want action and who want Batman, the story could have worked without it though. Notice that I talk about Arkhams on the loose (and not arkhamites), this was on purpose. As always I don't own or earn anything. Enjoy, and please review (I'd like to know what I could improve on ;-) )  
**

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Chapter VII The awakening

**Barbara Gordon's room, Thomas Wayne Memorial**

For over eight hours Dick had sat uninterrupted at Barbara's bed. His head lay half asleep next to her on the bed. From time to time he looked up to watch the peacefully sleeping girl. It stung to see her face full of bruises, but he was glad she was going to be alright. She had been asleep for the entire eight hours he was with her. He yawned. Eight hours was a long time to wait, but he wanted to be there when she woke up. She had to know that she wasn't on her own in this, especially as her dad was abducted. It would surely be hard for her, and she could probably use all the support she could get. It was hard for Dick to stay awake though and he slowly started to doze off. As he fell asleep, something startled him. It was as if a tiny person was walking through the forest of his hair. He slowly turned his head while rubbing his eyes. He noticed a pair of half opened bright eyes were looking at him. "Hey", he softly said to the awakened sleeping beauty.

Barbara tried to smile. Her bruises made it a quite uncomfortable thing to do though. The following motion of her lip seemed to suggest she greeted him back, but she was too tired to produce a sound with the movement. Nevertheless, Dick seemed to understand. He moved closer to the head side of her bed, and softly caressed her hair out of her face. "It … it's ironic", she muttered with great difficulty. Dick tried to calm her down. Yet he wondered what she meant, as he didn't see any irony in the entire situation. Well except for the fact that he knew she was pregnant and she probably didn't, but that could hardly be what she meant. His concern wanted her to rest, she had to rest, she had been through a lot lately and shouldn't get too heated up. His curiosity however wanted her to finish the sentence as he didn't have the slightest idea of what she could have meant with "ironic". "All this time …", she continued, "All this time I've been Batgirl, and it's Barbara that gets shot."

Batgirl? Now that was a confession he didn't see coming. He always had the feeling that he knew Batgirl's alter ego, but Barbara. It couldn't be her, she had to be raving. After all Batgirl had … red hair, just like Barbara. She had the same bright eyes he would often drown in when they were having dinner together, she had the same posture as the girl that had often fallen asleep in his arms after watching a boring movie. Not to mention that she was clearly a skilled gymnast. Of course Batgirl was Barbara. How could he never have realized this before? And why didn't she tell him? Then again he never told her about his double life either, even though he had often wanted to. But how do you tell something like this? How do you tell the person for whom you care the most that every night you risk your life to rid the streets of Gotham of criminality? She must have had the same problem.

Barbara felt uncomfortable. Why wasn't Dick saying anything. Was it such a shock to find out what she was doing at night? Could he be mad because she had always kept it from him, because she hadn't been completely honest with him? She always wanted to tell him, she really did, but she didn't know how to. How could she tell him that she might not be there for him the next day, because she had been on one nightly mission too many? She didn't know what hurt the most: her bruises and broken ribs or this feeling she had that she was going to lose Dick. He had every right to be upset, to feel betrayed even, if only she could explain it to him. Tears started to form in her eyes. "I wanted to …", she muttered, "I always wanted to …"

"Shhh", Dick interrupted her. He knew what she was going to say and she was clearly upset. He softly held her bruised left cheek to comfort her. He gently wiped away her tears with his other hand. "Don't think about it", he whispered as he kissed her forehead, "I'm glad you're OK." Barbara passed out again, but Dick was relieved to see her expression loosen up. Nevertheless he realized how much he actually was needed. He couldn't leave her, not now, she needed him and she had to know she could count on him. Bruce didn't want his help anyway, but even if he had the choice, here was where he was needed the most right now, no matter how many Arkhams were on the loose. He laid is head on the mattress and fell asleep.

**Gotham Yacht Club**

A bat-like shadow landed quietly on the rooftop. Even though no one had heard or seen the Caped Crusader, it was obvious that his agility had clearly decreased since the great escape. The insomnia and fulltime escapee hunting had started to take their price. Just a few minutes earlier he had returned the Clock King to Arkham. It had been a long and heavy task capturing him. His cunningness made Temple Fugate into a formidable opponent despite his low physical strength. The Dark Knight wasn't granted any breathing space though, as the police communication he intercepted mentioned irregular activity, possibly burglary at the yacht club. Under the given circumstances he wouldn't have bothered a small crime like this, as the police should be resourceful enough to solve this problem on their own. However it seemed that all police units that were sent there, never reported back. This was enough to raise Batman's suspicions that this wasn't some ordinary burglary and put him into motion. The area looked deserted. Four police cars could be seen, some of which with opened doors, but they were all empty. The only place that wasn't completely lifeless was the club building he was standing on. In fact it sounded quite crowded, as if there was a party going on. More had to be going on though. Why else would these deserted police cars be standing here and why else wouldn't the officers be reporting back? Using his periscope the Dark Knight looked into the yacht club's festive hall. In the room twenty to thirty people, that were clearly enjoying themselves, could 

be seen. Among them he recognized some police officers and some Gotham elite members, probably yacht owners. His eye soon focused on one man though. A man sitting at the top of the table drinking a cup of tea. Next to him stood a box that was filled with jewelry, artifacts and money. His grin and black top hat immediately gave his identity away: it was the Mad Hatter.

"Happy unbirthday, Hatter", one of the feasters said as he added some more valuables to the box.

"You are too kind", the Mad Hatter laughingly replied.

The party immediately froze as the uninvited Dark Knight let himself in through the window. The Hatter's grin faded away. "Twinkle twinkle little bat! How I wonder what you're at! Up above the world you fly LIKE A TEA TRAY IN THE SKY!", he cited as he flung a tea tray towards the Caped Crusader. Much to both men's surprise Batman wasn't able to evade the projectile and received the full blow of breaking porcelain in his face. "Looks like you're a little slow today, Batman", Jervis Tetch continued, "Get him men!"

The Dark Knight leaped out of the same window he had used to enter the room, quickly followed by the Mad Hatter's mind-controlled henchmen. He had to figure out a way to disconnect the mind-controlling microchips fast. Tetch would probably have upgraded the chips since their last encounter, which would exclude the ultrasonic tone he used back them. He jumped off an empty pier into the ocean. The chips could be waterproof, but it was worth the try. Besides, the salt could do the trick as well. As he hoped, the men followed him into the sea. _It's a good thing the Mad Hatter doesn't grant his victims a free will_, Batman thought, _they could have easily taken a yacht to forestall me_. Nevertheless the Caped Crusader was soon intercepted and brought to the Mad Hatter.

"Nice try, Batman", Tetch said to the crime fighter who was solidly held by six soaked men, "but it would be rather foolish to burgle a yacht club with microchips that aren't water proof, wouldn't it? And I wouldn't try your last trick either." He turned to his wet puppets. "How about giving him a good beating, that should teach him to interrupt our party."

Some of the mindless men started to punch Batman in the stomach. However, due to the higher temperature of the microchips the seawater on it was evaporating at a high rate, causing salt crystals to grow on the chips. These growing crystals insulated the connection to the brain, causing the microchips to lose their effect. The punching stopped and the six men loosened their grip on the Dark Knight. "What are we doing here?", one of them asked as they all looked puzzled to each other, "and what's this annoying pin in my neck?"

The Mad Hatter couldn't believe what he saw. He used the commotion to flee towards a nearby yacht and started the engine. The Dark Knight maneuvered through the puzzled, soaked people and fired his grapple gun at the yacht's cabin as it took off. Using his cape as a parasail, he landed on the boat. "Forgotten about the salt, sloppy, Jervis, very sloppy", he surprised the captain of the ship.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?", the Hatter moaned as he was handcuffed.

**Arkham Asylum**

"That's the third one for tonight", the guard said as Batman brought him the Mad Hatter, "At this rate they'll all be back in by the weekend."

Batman turned back as he heard the guard's words. "Third?", he asked.

"Yeah, the police brought in Wesker a couple of hours ago. You pl … Where'd he go?"

The Batmobile tore through the roads as the sun was rising. The night had been busy and Bruce Wayne had to appear as soon as possible. The Dark Knight got out of his Kevlar suit the moment he arrived at the Batcave. In hot haste Bruce Wayne took a shower and got dressed.

"Good morning, sir", Alfred greeted him, "Breakfast?"

"Yes please, Alfred, and some really strong coffee."

"Here you are, sir", Alfred said as he brought him breakfast and coffee, "It's a good thing all the media attention goes to the escapees these days, because you really have looked better, master Bruce. Do you really have to go to work every morning? You didn't use to."

"I know, but the days that I didn't go in the morning were usually the days following a party. And since people aren't organizing any out of fear for the free roaming criminals, I'm afraid Bruce Wayne has no reason not to come to work. This doesn't mean I can't be late though."

"I beg your pardon, sir?", Alfred questioned Bruce's last statement.

"Well, I should go talk to Dick first, has he come home?"

"No sir, he spent the entire night with miss Gordon."

"Well then, there's my reason to be late at work. Pack some breakfast, we're going to pay them a visit."

**Thomas Wayne Memorial**

"Thanks Alfred, wait here until I get back", Bruce Wayne said as he left the car with a basket containing about a dozen buns. "Good morning, Bonny", he said as he entered the hospital room.

"Good morning, Mr. Wayne", the woman sitting at the entrance desk replied.

"Can you tell me where I can find Barbara Gordon's room?"

"Sure", she said as she started typing, "room 374, third floor."

"Thanks, Bonny." Bruce took the elevator to the third floor and gently entered the room. Barbara still seemed to be unconscious and Dick sat asleep on a chair, his head lying next to her on her mattress. He put his hand on his young ward's shoulder. "Dick?", he whispered.

The young man rose rubbing his eyes and overstretching his back. "Hi", he said, "Man my back hurts".

"Well, you were sleeping in a rather uncomfortable position. How is she?"

"She woke up for a couple of minutes about … five hours ago", Dick answered as he looked at his watch, "Did you know she was … ?" He held his hands in a bat-like shape over his chest.

"I had my suspicions, I couldn't be sure though."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just told you. I wasn't sure, and if it really was her, it would hardly be MY place to tell you, would it?"

"I guess you're right. How's work? Still don't need my help?"

"Listen Dick, I'm sorry. I just don't want anything to happen to you. I already lost my parents, I don't want to lose my son as well. Besides, Barbara needs you more right now."

"I understand, I really do, it's just that you can be really infuriating from time to time. You didn't answer my question by the way."

"Well, three more down. The clock and the hat have been taken care of and the blue unit has solved our ventriloquist problem."

"And the horrific duo?"

"Not a trace, I'm afraid. Does she know?"

"Not yet. She was barely awake long enough to apologize for not telling me her secret."

"Will you tell her?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"And your nightlife?"

"She has a right to know. At least I know now that she would understand."

"Well, I guess I'll be off to work then, Dick. There's some breakfast in the basket over there. I'm sure you'll both appreciate it. Alfred might drop by to bring you some other meals too. I guess it'll be better than hospital food."

"Will the hospital staff appreciate that?"

"I'm funding this place, they'd better appreciate it. Besides they aren't going to make you any meals here. You're not their patient. Bye Dick."

"See you."


	9. Chapter 8: Mutual Secrets

**Notes: I still don't own or earn anything**

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Chapter VIII Mutual secrets

An orange colour filled the dusking sky of Gotham. The sunset could clearly be seen from Barbara's hospital room as it had a window in the west. Dick couldn't be bothered though. It's not like a setting sun between Gotham's skyscrapers was much of a view anyway. It had been almost an entire day since he arrived here and he hadn't left the room for a single second. Alfred had already brought him dinner. Even though the microwave didn't do the usual taste much credit, it was probably still way better than common hospital food. Dick had barely touched the buns however. He wanted to spare them in case Barbara woke up. All she had in the last 48 hours were IV's; in fact her cannula had just 

been replaced half an hour earlier. Barbara hadn't woken up since the first time though. Would she even remember the first time she woke up? It often happened people woke up without any later recollection of the event. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad thing in Barbara's case. If she did recall her earlier awakening though, his presence would be essential. If he wouldn't be there, she might think that she upset him, that she was on her own. Dick couldn't let her go through that, not now, not ever for that matter, but certainly not now. She had gone through so much lately and she still didn't know about her father. She didn't deserve this, she was one of the sweetest and most diligent persons he knew, she wouldn't harm anyone. Well if she really was Batgirl, she would, but only for the good cause. It wasn't Batgirl that was shot though, it was Barbara. Dick snapped out of his thoughts as he heard a faint coughing. His focus was immediately fixated on the yawning girl that lay on the bed in front of him. "Good morning sleeping beauty", he greeted her, "well, good evening actually."

"Hi", she replied.

"Alfred brought us some breakfast, I gathered it'd be better than the IV's you're having now."

She smiled, though only briefly. "I'm sorry, Dick", she said afterwards in a regretting tone.

"Don't be", Dick consoled her, "If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I sh…" Dick stopped as he realized it probably wasn't a good idea to talk about that particular evening, at least not about the assault itself. "I … I broke your window", he continued.

"You didn't! … You did?"

Dick nodded and moved his head close to hers. "You're not the only one leading a double life, you know", he whispered in her ear.

Barbara sunk away in her thoughts. He was Robin?! No wonder they were drawn to each other, no wonder he understood her, they even shared the same secret. It was almost too good to be true. No wait, it was, she had to be dreaming. But where did all the pain come from, was this real life after all? Could it really be true. They sure looked the same. Well, apart from the haircut, but that could easily be done with some gel. It really was him, Dick and Robin were the same person. She swung her arms around him and pulled him towards her. It hurt like hell, but she really wanted to do it. "Thanks", she said as she kissed him.

The sudden actions of the girl had surprised the former acrobat. He carefully held her close to him as he didn't want to hurt her more than was necessary. "You're welcome", he softly said as he laid her back on the bed, "And I'm sure Bruce will be happy to pay for the window."

Barbara giggled. "Forget about the window", she said. A sudden end came to her giggling afterwards as she looked around the room. "Where's dad?", she asked, "Has he already been here? Is he at work? Why isn't he here?"

Dick took Barbara's hand. He sought for a way to bring her the bad news, only to find out that the only thing he could do was just tell her what happened. "I'm afraid he's been kidnapped by the Joker and the Scarecrow, Barb", he said softly as he took a deep breath, "I'm sorry."

Barbara shook her head in disbelief. "No!", she cried in a whispering tone, "Tell me it isn't true! Tell me this is all just a bad dream." Tears started to form in her eyes.

Dick gently wiped away her tears. "I'm afraid it is true, Babs", he said as he softly took her in his arms, "But he's Batman's first priority, I'm sure he'll find him soon. Don't worry, he'll be fine, I know he will."

Barbara buried her head in the young man's shoulder. Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this? First the assault, and now her father. Was the world truly such an unfair place? Why was she even asking herself? She knew it was, especially this place. Gotham city was probably the most unfair place in the whole world. At least it hadn't taken Dick from her. He was still there for her. Who knows how long he had been at her side. She strengthened her grip around him, pulling him as close as possible. She didn't care about her bruises, her broken ribs and the pain they were causing. "Don't leave me", she whispered.

"Leave you? You're stuck with me forever, Barb. In the end you're probably gonna beg me to leave you."

Barbara laughed. This wasn't an ordinary guy. He even managed to put a smile on her face in the worst situations. Situations like these. She loosened her grip on him and covered herself in the bed sheets. "Keep on dreaming, Grayson, I'll have YOU on your knees in no time."

"Perhaps", Dick replied, "Aren't you gonna eat your breakfast?"

"I'm not really hungry."

"It might help to clear your thoughts."

"You already did, Dick. But you could be right, it has been a long time since I last saw solid food." She grabbed a bun and took a bite from it. "I have to admit it, Alfred's buns are good."

"They sure are."

"Hey Dick, can you do me a favour?"

"Sure"

"Can you go to my apartment and fetch me some decent clothes. Things I usually wear, Dick! And also a nightgown, some underwear and my tooth brush and tooth paste."

"Planning on leaving, are we?"

"No of course not, I just don't feel comfortable wearing nothing but this hospital shirt."

"I know, I'll go right away."

"Thanks. You can have the remaining buns, if I'm asleep when you return."

**Barbara Gordon's apartment**

Dick Grayson locked the door as he left the room. The police had cleaned up the tied up thugs in the room and sealed the broken window. In his hand Dick held a suitcase filled with the stuff Barbara had asked for. He walked down the stairs, threw the suitcase on the backseat of his car and started the engine. As he was driving, his eye caught sight of a familiar figure. He pulled over and searched his coat for his bat-communicator. _Why do these things always hide themselves when you need them_, he thought. He eventually found it in the inner lining of his coat, where it had stranded via a hole in his pocket. "Batman, do you read me?"

"_This is Batman_", the communicator replied, "_What's the matter?_"

"I just spotted Two-Face and his gang at Dini Square."

"_I'm on my way. What are YOU doing THERE, by the way?_"

"Yeah, you're welcome", Dick replied in a sarcastic tone as he put away the communicator. _He will never change, will he?_, Dick thought as he started the car again and headed back to the Thomas Wayne Memorial.


	10. Chapter 9: Getting away

**Notes: the next two chapters are for people who want to see some batman and some action. Two be honest I wasn't planning on writing them (apart from a few paragraphs) as writing action usually gives quite boring storylines, and I'm not 100 fond of them either. But the entire Two-Face-problem does give a view into the effects of insomnia on Batman's thinking abilities and he actually even projects these problems on situations where he isn't to blame for an error. As always I don't own the characters (well apart from some minor ones) and I don't earn anything. In case anyone wondered, I added Zeus for some comic relief. Chapter 10 will be up as soon as I finished chapter 11. Read, enjoy, review, do whatever you please. **

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Chapter IX Getting away

**Paul Dini Square**

The area was quiet. Could Robin have been wrong? The area would make sense though, as it was where the Second National Bank was located. Maybe Two-Face had only been scouting the area. Or maybe he had lost his coin flip. The Dark Knight hoped it was the latter, but there was no way of knowing for sure. Two-Face could be awaiting the right time, perhaps 2 am or 10 pm, 22:00 hours in 24 hour notation. His obsession with the number two might even go further, he could make his move at 2:22 or 22:22, or any of these hours in the time zones GMT +2 or GMT -2. At least he had an idea of the possible times Two-Face could be planning to rob the bank, if he was, but the timeframe could hardly be called narrow: 10 pm, 10:22 pm, 1 am, 1:22 am, 2 am, 2:22 am, 3 am, 3:22 am, 5 am and 5:22 am were all plausible hours for Two-Face's actions. On top of that, Batman had no idea whether the bank would be Two-Face's only target. He couldn't focus on the bank for the entire night. There were still other madmen at large. Especially the Joker and the Scarecrow should be found as soon as possible, not to mention Bane, the man who probably started all this misery. Yet all of these men had vanished into thin air, not even leaving the Caped Crusader the slightest clue of their whereabouts. He couldn't sit here all night hoping that Harvey would show himself, he had better things to do. But as it was almost ten o'clock anyway, Batman decided waiting for about half an hour wouldn't do that much damage. It was a complete waste of time though. Dick must have noticed more than just Two-Face and his gang being at the square, maybe he saw where they were heading to. He took his Bat-communicator and contacted him. Not knowing whether he had to say Dick or Robin he opend with: "Partner, do you hear me?".

For a couple of moments the communicator was silent, but eventually a reply returned. "_Partner ay, I was starting to doubt you still considered me as such._"

"Are you sure it was Two-Face you saw?"

"_Well, if you know someone else with half a blue face._"

"Can you tell me more, where was he heading and by what means of transportation?"

"_He headed north, I think, and he was on foot. … Wait … I remember a white van standing still for a while where I first saw him and his gang. It left right before I saw them, I think it was a Sprinter._"

"Hmm, well I don't see any white Sprinters here."

"_Where are you now?_"

"I'm keeping an eye on the Second National Bank, but I don't think I'll be here for much longer."

"_Hmm, aren't there any other things in the area in the theme of the number two. Pairs, couples, twins, deuce. Perhaps other languages: duo, deux, Gemini, jumeaux, __διδυμος__, …_"

"Wait, can you repeat that last one?"

"_Διδυμος__, that's Greek for twin._"

"The Didymus is a posh Greek restaurant only a few blocks north of Dini Square." The sound of sirens, moving closer, could be heard in the distance. "By the sounds of it I'd better hurry. Batman out." The Dark Knight fired his grapple gun and headed towards the restaurant. The white sprinter left as he arrived. Even though the van was out of reach to catch up with, Batman was just in time to fire a magnetic homing device towards it. Two-Face might have escaped for now, but he would be found soon enough. Nevertheless the Caped Crusader wondered how he could have forgotten about this place. How could he have put all his focus on only one single place? That wasn't like him, the insomnia really was taking its toll. Maybe he should take some nights off, but he couldn't, Bane would do whatever it takes to get him. He had to leave Robin out of this until Bane was caught. Hence he couldn't rest, not for now at least. He took his grapple gun and aimed at a nearby flagpole. He was about to leave as a bearded man appeared. _Zeus?_, the Batman thought, _fits the surroundings_. There had to be an easy way to handle this. Zeus thought he was a Greek deity, and he thought Batman was Hades. That could be used against him. The Dark Knight addressed the former CEO: "Zeus, my brother, what brings you here?"

"Hades? … What do you mean?", the puzzled wannabe god replied.

"What are you doing in Hades? This is my empire you know."

"This is Hades?"

"Can't you tell? Death lurks around every corner here. You're not even that far from Tartaros. How did you get here?"

"Someone has made a gateway to this place from Olympus. I thought I'd find out what it was all about."

"An escaped titan has done that. We're already taking care of him and the gateway, don't worry. No dead man will escape to Olympus, as long as I am in charge here." Maxie Zeus easily bought the story. Batman invited him to enter a police car, as they had arrived at the robbed restaurant in the mean while. Maxie Zeus entered the car. "My assistants will take you back to Olympus", Batman said as he turned towards the officer driving the car, "Arkham!"

**The Joker's underground hideout**

"She's gonna be OK, she's gonna be OK, she's gonna be OK, …" The same sentence was repeated all the time, as regularly as the dripping sound of the water droplets. Still tied up to his chair Jim Gordon sat in the middle of moist room, surrounded by pictures of his daughter being assaulted by the Joker's men. He didn't want to see them, but they were everywhere. He couldn't open his eyes, not even blink them, without being confronted with Barbara's ruthless assailing. It was sick, he was sick, this man, no, this monster calling himself the Joker. Was this his idea of a joke. How can a person even think this could be funny? Then again, this was the Joker. One could barely call him a person. He was one of the most twisted criminal minds Gotham City, maybe even the world, had ever known and hopefully would ever know. "She's gonna be OK, she's gonna be OK, …", Gordon kept telling himself, but he didn't believe it, he knew, or at least he thought he knew, she was going to die, if she hadn't already. The Scarecrow was to blame for this. James Gordon wouldn't under any circumstance lose faith in his daughter's strength. He knew she was a fighter, she was strong, maybe even stronger than Batgirl. But Crane's diluted toxins had forced the abducted commissioner to give in to pessimism and despair. "She's gonna be OK, she's gonna be OK", he kept repeating, "she's gonna be OK."

It was music to the ears of the Joker, who was standing behind the supposed door. He grinned, he always did, but his current grin was more than ever filled with satisfaction. "I'd say we made quite some progress, wouldn't you, Johnny-boy?"

The Scarecrow nodded. He couldn't deny the results had actually satisfied his curiosity, as disgusting as he thought this plan was. He realized true science needed extreme methods from time to time. He was also concerned though. What if the Joker wouldn't need him anymore? That day didn't seem to be too far away and the Joker would definitely realize it. Even though their cooperation had been fruitful, he didn't trust his partner in crime. The Joker probably wouldn't even expect it any other way. His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of splashing footsteps. "Joker, I think we've got an intruder on our premises", he said as he took a handful of his fear powder.

The sound of the footsteps became louder with every step. A man appeared from one of the sewer halls. The horrific duo immediately recognized him. "Hey, what are you doing here!?", the intruder asked with a clearly annoyed voice. Instead of getting an answer however, he was welcomed with a handful of the Scarecrow's adrenaline-driven fear powder. "Hey! What's the big idea?!", the man angrily yelled at them. His respiration accelerated, as he took a closer look at his opponents. At first he thought he knew them, but now he didn't understand why. They didn't even remotely look like anyone he knew. In fact he had never seen such hideous creatures. These things weren't men, they were monsters and they sure looked hungry. This was not good, two vicious sewer monsters were preying on him, he wouldn't stand a chance, he had to get out of here and fast. He turned around and ran off like a madman.

The Scarecrow made motion to follow him, only to be stopped by the Joker. "We can't let him escape", the puzzled Scarecrow yelled, "He'll give away our location!"

The Joker remained calm. "Let him", he replied


	11. Chapter 10: Trouble Thinking

**Notes: I still don't own and earn anything. What I said in last chapter also counts for this one, only the end is important for the rest of the story. The rest of the chapters will go straight through the storyline, though, I promise.**

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Chapter X Trouble thinking

The Batmobile tore through the streets of Gotham. The signal of Two-Face's van had been gone for quite a while now, which either meant that the homing device was discovered and destroyed or that they were out of range. The cars only passenger steered the Batmobile to all corners of town hoping to find back the signal. Two-Face and his gang wouldn't be hiding too far away from Gotham. There were plenty of candidate shelter facilities just outside town: the stadium, the airport, the industrial park, the university, why not even Bludhaven. Two-Face's obsession with the number two might get him to rob in two different cities. Bludhaven wasn't Batman's territory though, he already had his hands full with Gotham. If Two-Face truly were in Bludhaven, they'd have to solve the problem by themselves. In the mean while the Caped Crusader kept his eyes and ears open for other escapees. The easy capture of Maxie Zeus was a welcome variation, but unfortunately it was only an exception. Killer Croc had been spotted several times, but he was always gone by the time Batman arrived, leaving nothing but an occasional scale. It was no mystery where Killer Croc went, but the extendedness of Gotham's sewer network and Croc's knowledge of it made it a nearly impossible task to track down the reptile man in it. A complete mystery, on the other hand, were the whereabouts of the Joker and Scarecrow. None of the Joker's old hideouts seemed to have been inhabited lately or it should have been by hyenas. Jonathan Crane's chemical plant was empty as well, as were his other former hideouts. They apparently vanished from the earth's surface, and the same seemed to be happening to Two-Face, or so the Dark Knight thought until a bleeping sound took his attention. He was getting closer to Two-Face, or rather Two-Face was getting closer to him, as the signal was clearly moving. The Caped Crusader set course towards the moving signal. The white Sprinter halted at Paul Dini Square. Apparently they were planning on robbing the Second National Bank after all. The Batmobile pulled over at a safe distance. As Batman left his vehicle, an explosion blew away a part of the bank's wall. Ignoring the alarm bell as if it were a mere soundtrack, the bank robbers entered the building via their newly created gateway. The Batman cautiously approached the van and implanted a second homing device on it, in case one of them would be found. As he stealthily neared the hole in the wall, a second, lighter explosion blew him into the white Sprinter's flank, knocking him unconscious.

**Gotham Stadium**

The bright spotlights hurt his eyes as he woke up. His limbs were pulled laterally by chains. Above him was the blurry image of a half blue man.

"Good morning", Two-Face said when he noticed his prisoner was waking up, "It seems our little bat trap was effective."

Batman just moaned. A twofold plan, he should have known. They probably weren't even planning to rob the bank, but he fell for it. What's done is done though, there had to be a way to escape this unpleasant situation, maybe he could pull his hands out of his gloves. It would be hard though, as the chains around his wrists were quite tight.

"As you may or may not know, Batman", Two-Face continued, "The 22nd Gotham Monster Jam will be held this weekend at this very location. As the trucks are already here, we decided we might as well use these resources to settle an old score. You might have noticed that your limbs have been chained. Your right limbs are attached to a monster truck, your left limbs to another one. My henchmen will open the throttle and that's where it ends for you. No more Batman, just two halves. All we have to do is flip our coin." The sound of the airborne coin was all that could be heard for a 

moment. As the coin fell into Two-Face's opened left hand, disappointment could be read from both of his faces. The coin had landed good heads up. "Hmmm, at least we won't have to clean up the mess. You're lucky, Batman! You get to live, for now, but that doesn't mean we have to release you. Enjoy the rest of the night." He turned to his henchmen. "Let's go!"

"But boss, weren't we …"

"I said let's go! With him chained up here we can easily get away. Pack our loot and get in the van. Have the homing devices been removed."

"Yup, both of them gone, boss."

As the criminals left the arena, the Dark Knight pulled his right hand out of his glove. It was painful but it had to be done. He reached for the blowtorch in his utility belt. They hadn't removed his belt. Why bother if he couldn't reach it after all? Or perhaps Two-Face lost that coin toss as well. The torch cut through the chains in no time. he shook off the remaining chains and put back on his glove. He had to be quick. As both tracking devices had been removed he had to catch that van in order to get them. As he heard the sound of a starting engine, he quickly ran up the gallery. The moment he saw the van leave underneath him, he base-jumped off the building and landed on the Sprinter's roof.

"What was that?", a startled Two-Face asked his equally startled henchmen, as the Batman landed. "Give us our gun!" The henchman in the back of the van tossed the former D.A. his tommy-gun, which he immediately started firing towards the roof.

The Dark Knight rolled himself towards the back of the van as bullet holes started to form in the Sprinter's roof top. He opened the rear door and easily defeated and tied up the surprised thug that was sitting in the back.

"Get him!", Two-Face yelled at his other thug.

"But boss, I'm driving."

"Get him, we'll take over."

The Caped Crusader used the commotion to pull the hand-brake lever. The sudden deceleration smashed the two rogues through the wind-screen. Their unconscious bodies lay motionless in front of the van. The Batman had received quite a hit as well, as he got smashed into the car seat. In pain he exited the car to tie up his foes. Safely tied up, the criminals were thrown in the boot of the van. The Batmobile being out of range, the Dark Knight had to drive the Sprinter. Without wind-screen the drive was an uncomfortable one, but the wind blowing in his face did wonders keeping him fully awake. He left the van in front of the police station including a note with the bat-emblem.

Dawn was soon to come, as Batman drove the Batmobile home. It had been a tiring night and it could hardly be called a success. There was still no trace of the Joker or the Scarecrow, or even Bane for that matter. As he passed the prostitution area screaming caught his attention. He noticed several solicitors fearfully running away from a white, scaled man, who seemed to be just as scared of the prostitutes as they were afraid of him. _At least I have found Killer Croc_, the Dark Knight thought as he pulled over and leapt out of his car. Seeing the Caped Crusader the reptile man immediately fled the scene. "Get away from me you winged monster!" he yelled as he ran off. 

Batman followed him into a dead alley. The crocodile was cornered. He growled as he had no way to go. Clearly shivering he decided to attack the monster that was cornering him. The surprised Dark Knight was knocked onto the street as Killer Croc ran off again.

"This clearly calls for more finesse", Batman muttered as he filled a syringe with two chemicals and placed it in a dart gun. He headed in the direction Croc ran off. The reptile man hadn't gone far.

His short break interrupted by the sudden reappearance of the Dark Knight, Killer Croc ran off again. "Why can't you hunt someone else?", he fearfully yelled.

The Batman didn't respond as he kept tailing the reptile man. His opponent's moves were thoughtless, driven completely by fear, he was bound to make a mistake again and when he did, the Caped Crusader wouldn't let himself be surprised again. Swinging through the air he noticed Killer Croc was getting tired, taking longer breaks every couple of seconds. Eventually the Dark Knight caught up with the former wrestler and fired the dart. Startled by the sudden sting in his neck Croc ran off again, but this time Batman had no intent on following him. He knew what would happen. He watched the reptile man run more dizzily and drowsily with every step until he simply fell on the pavement in a deep sleep.


	12. Chapter 11: Good News

**Notes: I still don't own anything, never will, nor will I ever earn anything. This is mainly a conversational chapter, notice the irony of Barbara's thoughts and the hard time Dick is having keeping a certain secret. From the next chapter on, it will go in a straight line towards the end. Enjoy the fic.**

* * *

Chapter XI Good News

**Barbara Gordon's hospital room**

The red-haired girl watched her savior as he was peacefully asleep on his chair, head on her mattress. Her thoughts drifted on different subjects, but it all came down to Dick Grayson eventually, well him and Robin, but as they were one and the same after all, it didn't really make a difference, did it? Had he really been with her all the time? Well, apart from that little task she gave him. There was a suitcase in the room, where there hadn't been one before so she guessed he successfully accomplished this mission. _Good old Dick_, she thought, _never fails you_. It's a good thing she had him, especially now her father had been abducted. She tried not to think too much about what might have happened to him. _Never give in to despair_, she kept telling herself. There was only one thing that could keep her mind away from her father though, and that was the boy sitting asleep next to her. If it wasn't for him who knows what would have happened to her. She would have been raped and probably killed. Not to mention that he got her to a hospital in time. She owed him big time and here she was asking him for favours. She should be the one offering him favours, even though she was hardly in a state to do so. Maybe one day she could repay him. Maybe one day she could offer him a child. She always wanted children and Dick would be the perfect father. He really had his way with children. Of course this wouldn't be happening any time soon, her body was in no condition to carry children, but maybe in a couple of months when she had fully recuperated, when he had graduated. She snapped herself back to reality. What was she thinking? It's not like they were married or anything. Sure she wanted to start a family with him, but were they actually ready? Their nightlife surely wasn't one that would allow a happy family life. But then again they couldn't be crime fighters forever, could they? She was snapped back to reality once more, not by herself this time but by the awakening Boy Wonder's alter ego. This was the first time she had awaited his awakening. "Sure took you long enough to wake up", Barbara teased him as he rubbed his eyes, "I was starting to wonder who really is the bedbound one in here."

"Are you growing Grayson traits miss Gordon?", Dick asked in response.

"No", she replied in a faked innocent voice, "What would I do that for?"

"Well, it's just that you remind me of this guy Dick Grayson, except that you're way better looking."

"Thanks, not that it's hard to be better looking than that hideous hunchback Grayson."

"Hey?!" She had to pay for that one. Dick Grayson's hands were in a perfect tickling position.

"Uh-uh", she interrupted him, "you can't touch me remember, I'm full of bruises."

"Such an abuse of power!", Dick said as he pulled back his hands against his will.

"It worked, didn't it?"

"I'll get my revenge … eventually."

"I don't think so, Grayson."

"Oh, I will."

"No, you won't."

"Yes, I will and you'd want me to."

"Oh no, I won't!" Dick just glared right in her eyes, until she finally gave up. "OK, there might be a minor chance that I would enjoy your revenge, but I wouldn't bet on it."

"Oh I would, you'd enjoy every second of it." Dick leaned towards the bruised redhead and kissed her softly.

"Well, if that's going to be your revenge I'd like some more."

"It wasn't. It was just a tiny foretaste."

"When will the rest come?"

"Maybe that's the revenge." He smiled at her. She smiled back, she was glad he was here. He probably was the only one that could make her feel happy under these circumstances.

A knocking on the door could be heard. "May I come in?", a man with a British accent asked.

"Sure, why not?", Dick replied.

"Good morning master Dick, Miss Gordon", Alfred Pennyworth greeted them as he entered the room.

"Hey Alfred", Barbara exclaimed as Dick simply nodded.

"I came here to bring you two some breakfast. So how are we feeling today?" the Butler asked.

"Well I have felt better, but I'll get through it … despite my constant bodyguard here", Barbara answered adding the last part in a teasing tone.

"Hey!", Dick protested.

"Just kidding, Dick's been absolutely great! I don't know what I'd do without him." Dick Smiled.

"That's how we know him", Alfred replied.

"You must be very proud of him", the bedbound redhead added. Dick started to grow a blush. Barbara smiled as she noticed.

"Oh we are, both me and master Bruce, even though he doesn't know how to show it. Which reminds me, master Dick, master Bruce requires your assistance on a certain issue, he is in the car waiting for you."

"I'll be right back, Barb", Dick said as he left the room, "Oh, and don't let Alfred seduce you!"

"My word, sir", the Butler replied in an annoyed tone as he was left in the room with Barbara Gordon, who was obviously amused by Dick Grayson's pun.

Dick ran off the stairs and left the building. The black car was parked in front of the entrance. Dick entered it and greeted his guardian. "Hello Bruce … man you look terrible."

Dick hadn't exaggerated. Bruce looked as if he could collapse any minute now. The bags under his eyes were huge. "Hello Dick", he replied, "I wish I could say the same thing about you."

"I was told you needed my help."

"Yes", the older man replied in the Batman voice, "the insomnia keeps me from thinking straight, so I need your help to run over some ideas."

"Who'd have thought the world's greatest detective would need my help."

"I realize pride isn't at its place in a case like this one Dick, which doesn't mean that I want you in the field."

"I wasn't planning to anyway, not now, so what is it you want to talk to me about?"

"I caught Killer Croc not too long ago, in the prostitution area."

"Hmm, I guess reptile men have human needs too. Rough fight?"

"Not really, he always ran off, attacking only when he was cornered."

"As if he was afraid?"

"Yes!"

"Sounds Scarecrow to me."

"That's what I thought too, so I added some antitoxin to the sedative. The problem is Croc doesn't squeal on anybody, not even if they attacked him. I pretty much had to misuse his broken leg to get information on Bane, when he beat him into hospital."

"Well, the Scarecrow and the Joker, including Barbara's dad, have seemingly vanished. Yet Croc, who isn't really a textbook example of intelligence, seems to have found them. My guess is that it would probably be a place where he would hide too, which would be …"

"The sewers, that doesn't help me much though."

"Well you could reduce the area to the prostitution neighbourhood. And don't forget they have already been there for a few days, not to mention the fact they have to hide the commissioner in it. We're not talking about a common sewer pipe here, it has to be some kind of gallery or maybe an abandoned underground control center. Didn't that Sewer King lunatic have quite a lair?"

"I'll look into it."

"That all?"

Bruce nodded. "Thanks Dick", he said in his Bruce Wayne voice, "for everything".

Dick smiled. He always found it odd how Bruce could flip between two completely different personalities, and yet both were one and the same, that he was sure of. "I'm glad to have helped", he said as he left the car and went back to Barbara.

"Well, I guess I'll be off then and let you two enjoy each other's company", Alfred said as Dick entered the room, "Goodbye master Dick, miss Gordon."

"Bye, Alfred", both youngsters said in unison.

"I think I've got some good news for you", Dick said once Alfred had left the building. He noticed his hand move to the prohibited area. He rectified his movement by placing his hand next to Barbara and leaning over her, in order to give her a kiss. _That was close_, he thought.

"Oh?", she replied.

"We caught track of your father."

"You did!?" She practically squashed Dick Grayson like a banana as he told her the news.

"Easy, Babs", Dick tried to free himself from the killer hug, "we haven't found him yet, though it won't be long now." _Wow, if she already reacts like a strangler fig on this news, how would she react when she finds out she's pregnant? If she ever finds out._

"Will he be OK?", she asked as she loosened her grip on him.

"Of course, he will", Dick answered, "This is your father we're talking about."

"I need more than that, Dick, this is the Joker we're talking about."

"Well, I have overheard the Joker's plans. He wanted to hurt him where it hurts the most, that would be through you. He can't do that when he kills him. My guess is: he barely even touched him, it would all be one of his sick mind games and as soon as the commish sees you all of its effects will vanish like snow on a hot plate."

"Thanks Dick. … So tell me is Bruce …?"

"I can't say that, Barb."

"Oh come on, I'm not stupid. You knew about my father after speaking to Bruce."

"Who says I spoke to Bruce, maybe Alfred and I are in this plot together."

"Well, I guess Bruce isn't such a knightly person. Far from it, when I think about it. But they are similarly built. … Oh come on Dick, is he?"

"It's out of my hands, Barbara", he replied as he raised his hands.

Barbara grumbled. "Wait!", she said suddenly, "that means yes, doesn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"You're constantly trying to evade the answer, it has to be him. Even if Alfred would be in the plot with you."

"For someone who claims she is not stupid, it sure took you long enough to realize that."

"Hey!"

"Just playing, don't tell him I told you though. He'll probably tell you himself … one day."

Barbara giggled. "One day, eh? I'll be looking forward to finally know his secret."

"Believe me, you still don't know half of it."


	13. Chapter 12: Sewer Showdown

**Notes: Don't own Batman or the other characters, never will, nor do earn anything. The end is getting near, yay yay.**

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Chapter XII Sewer Showdown

Dusk was darkening the streets of the already dark city of Gotham. Because of the clouded sky the sunset wasn't observable from room 374. The two adolescents inside didn't really care about this minor inconvenience, instead they were enjoying their meals. Meals that had just been brought to them by Alfred Pennyworth. "You know", Barbara Gordon broke the silence, "Alfred really is a great cook."

"You don't have to tell me, Barb", Dick Grayson replied, "I've been living with the guy for about 13 years now."

"Has he passed on some of these skills to you?"

"He tries to, and apparently I'm not as hopeless as Bruce is on the matter, though I doubt I'll ever come close to him."

"I hope you will."

"Why? You're an excellent cook yourself."

"Let's just say a girl likes to be spoiled from time to time." Barbara winked.

"I see."

"So … are you going to work tonight?"

"Work?"

"You know, the night job, the one that I used to share with you until recently."

"Oh that … Nah, Bruce doesn't want me to."

"For some reason, I can hardly believe you're the type of person that just does what one tells him."

"It's not that I don't want to, Babs, I just know where I'm needed more."

"Do you, now? … Do you know what I want the most right now, Dick?"

"Children?" His mouth immediately closed. _Great job, Grayson, this is the second time you've almost given it away_, he bashed himself, _let's hope she won't notice._

"No, … though they are a close second, I want my father back, Dick, alive and sane."

"Well, Batman is really close to finding him."

"And do you think he's a match for the Joker and the Scarecrow? I haven't seen him in a while, but judging what you've told me, I wouldn't say so, would you?"

"To be totally honest, I really have my doubts, but he …"

"And since when has that ever been a problem for you?"

"But you …"

"Dick, I really appreciate what you've done for me. And I really did need you by my side during the last couple of days, but right now I can cope. He needs you more right now, whether he wants to admit it or not, so go!"

"Are you sure you'll cope?"

"Go silly!"

**Downtown Gotham**

The area where the Batmobile pulled over was deserted. None of the buildings had been inhabited for years. Yet this was the area where Batman had to be. It weren't the buildings that interested him though, but what was underneath. There was an abandoned subway and sewerage control center underground, and the odds were high that this was the place where Gordon and his abductors were hidden. The Dark Knight quickly removed the sewer lid and went under. There was no sign of the Joker nor the Scarecrow. All he could hear was a constant muttering in the distance. As he carefully 

moved towards the sound, the words could be discerned. "She's gonna be OK" was what was constantly being said. It had to be James Gordon, but if he was here the horrific duo couldn't be too far away. Through the planks he could see the commissioner tied up to a chair, but there was no sign of anyone else. "She's gonna be OK, she's gonna be OK, …" was all that could be heard, as he quietly entered the room. "My God!", the Dark Knight suddenly exclaimed in disgust as he looked around in the room noticing the pictures. He soon pulled himself together and turned his attention to the raving commissioner, whom he started untying.

"Tell me she's gonna be OK", the commissioner begged his masked friend.

"It's OK, Jim, Barbara's fine. Robin saved her", the Caped Crusader reassured him.

"Looks like we've got some vermin to exterminate", a menacing voice suddenly rose behind him. As the Dark Knight turned around he was covered in a green aerosol. There was no time to put on his gas mask, not that it would have made a difference. If he wore his gas mask, the Scarecrow would simply have used his fear powder instead. The walls of the small room started closing in on him, and the only exit was blocked by the Grim Reaper himself. Certain death awaited him, as there was no way out, or was there? He had to try, there was no other way. He lunged towards the surprised Scarecrow who was immediately tossed over and unmasked in the process.

"John you idiot!", a fourth, pale man appeared on the scene, "What do frightened animals do when they're cornered? They attack!" Batman immediately moved back in fear as he recognized his mortal enemy's face. "Well Batsy, you do seem to be a little overstressed", the Joker continued.

"Why Joker?", the trembling voice of the Dark Knight sounded.

"You want to know why?", the jester continued, "why, this is my masterpiece, Batsy. … You see, what supposedly distinguishes me, and skin-and-bones here, from the rest of you, is the fact that we're madmen, insane maniacs that aren't able to think rationally."

"I know you can think rationally, Joker, that makes you even more dangerous than the real madmen", Batman fearfully replied.

"Doesn't the truth hurt? Anyhow, I'm here to prove you that it doesn't take more than a bad day to turn somebody insane, even a paragon of sanity like James Gordon. And I've succeeded quite well, n'est-ce pas?" The Joker's sadistic laughter filled the entire sewer network. The fear in the Caped Crusader's veins was now highly outmatched by anger. He leapt towards the clown prince of crime, but his move had been expected. The Scarecrow turned open a sewer pipe as the Dark Knight was airborne and the sudden outburst of water crashed the Batman into the wall, dislocating his right shoulder in the process. The Joker grinned. "Well, there's nothing like a cold shower to wake you up, is there, whaahahaha. Let's go Johnny-boy, our job here is done." Both arkhamites left the nearly broken Dark Knight and climbed out of the sewers. The Joker looked around as he surfaced. He immediately noticed the Batmobile and smiled. "It seems the time for my grand plan has come at last." the two villains ran off, albeit not unnoticed.

A caped motorcyclist saw them run down the streets. He doubted whether to follow them or not, but he decided not to as he noticed they were alone and the Batmobile's signal still wasn't moving. Batman and the commissioner might still need his help. Besides that, it was pretty obvious where the 

Joker and the Scarecrow would be going. He pulled over next to the Batmobile, or what was left of it. _Hmm, déjà-vu_, he thought as he climbed down into the sewers. The hung-up hand lanterns only provided some faint light, but he immediately noticed the moaning Dark Knight lying on the ground. Robin ran towards him, but immediately noticed him crawling back in fear. The Boy wonder filled a syringe pistol with the antidote and carefully approached the frightened Batman, hiding his bright colours within his cape in order not to startle his target. While he succeeded in injecting the antidote in the Caped Crusader's arm, he was knocked away by him immediately afterwards. "I knew you didn't want my help, but is that a way to thank me", Robin reacted sarcastically. It would take a couple of moments for the antidote to take effect. He had to find Gordon now. He most likely took a dose of fear toxin too, hence Robin prepared a new syringe. It wasn't hard to find the commissioner, nor would injecting him be, as he was still partly tied up. As he entered the room, Robin's mood immediately got filled with rage. He tore the sickening pictures from the wall as he noticed them. After a few moments he stopped and took a deep breath, these pictures didn't mean anything, Barbara was fine, he knew she was, he had been with her for 48 nearly uninterrupted hours. He pulled himself together, and injected and untied Gordon. As he supported the commissioner towards the exit he noticed the Dark Knight had gotten back on his feet. "So?", the Boy Wonder asked, "Still don't want my help?" Batman didn't answer, Robin didn't expect him to. He climbed out of the sewer gallery and pulled up the two older men.

"Robin", Batman said as he was being pulled up, "Do you know where the Joker and the Scarecrow went?"

"Well, the Joker has a hideout not too far away", the Boy Wonder replied, "and they definitely were running in that direction."

"Good, you go after them, I'll bring the commissioner to the Memorial with the Batmobile."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible", Robin pointed out as he drew his partner's attention on the wreck that once was the Batmobile, "I don't think you'll get very far with that."

"I'll have to go on foot then."

"Are you sure you don't want me to take the commish to his daughter. I mean that's exactly where Bane expects you to go."

"Robin, the combination of the Scarecrow and the Joker is probably the worst I have ever encountered, who knows what else they are planning. They should be stopped at all costs and I'm in no condition to do so. Besides, if Bane encounters you instead of me, he'll just use you as bait like he did last time. I won't risk your live if only mine is at stake, so this is the way we are going to do it. I have to go to the hospital anyway as I can't get my shoulder back in its joint, maybe it's twisted or something. … Don't worry, Bane won't attack me as long as the commissioner is with me, he knows that he's armed and as far as I know Bane isn't immortal. He'll make his move when I leave the building, I guess all I have to do is surprise him in the way I leave." The Boy Wonder could only agree.

James Gordon put his hand on Robin's shoulder. "Do this the right way, son", he said, "Show that maniac that he was wrong … for Barbara's sake." Robin nodded and turned towards his bike. "Wait!", the commissioner stopped him, "thanks for saving her."

"That's my job, commissioner, you don't have to thank me", the Boy Wonder said as he started the engine of his motorcycle and drove off.


	14. Chapter 13: Splits & Reunions

**Notes: I still don't own or earn anything. The Gordon reunion scene might be a bit cheesy, well actually it's very cheesy, but oh well. This is the last but one chapter, and afterwards there will be an epilogue (of which the contents can easily be guessed I think). Enjoy.**

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Chapter XIII Splits and Reunions

**The Joker's lair**

"So what is this grand plan of yours", the Scarecrow asked.

"Why, we go after Batman of course", the Joker replied.

"What!? If you wanted to kill him, why didn't you do so in the sewers? It's not like he would have resisted much."

"I don't remember telling you that I was planning to kill him. Where did you get that idea?"

The Scarecrow couldn't believe what he was hearing. What was going on in this guy's mind? First he refused to drive the commissioner insane by overdosing him with fear toxin, preferring to do it the hard way, as it was more 'fun'. Then he let Killer Croc escape, which was probably exactly the reason why the Batman had found their hideout. Eventually it didn't turn out to be such a great problem as the Dark Knight was easily defeated, but instead of delivering the final blow, the Joker called to retreat, leaving the commissioner and the Caped Crusader behind, as if nothing of the work they had been doing in the past couple of days even mattered. And now he wanted to go after the Batman, while he had him just moments ago. And he wouldn't even follow him to kill him. What was the matter with him? The Joker practically defined himself as Batman's future killer, it was what he lived for. It didn't make any sense. But why should this even surprise the Scarecrow? It probably made perfect sense in the Joker's insane mind. That mind could only change for the better if some rationality were added to it though. How about some fear toxin? The Joker had said himself that fear is one of the most rational emotions that existed. A dose of fear toxin could only do him good. Besides, the Scarecrow couldn't deny that he wanted to know what Gotham's most vicious criminal's worst fear was. What would give a monster like the Joker, who probably is the subject of everybody's worst nightmares, nightmares? Jonathan Crane was soon to find out. The red aerosol slowly emerged from his fingertips and surrounded the Joker. Fear could be read from the Joker's face as he looked at the delighted Scarecrow. _What's on your mind, Joker_, the professor of fear thought, _Tell me_.

"W … w …", the Joker stuttered. The Scarecrow was all ears, excited to be the first person ever to know the Joker's worst fears. He observed his object thoroughly as the expression on his face changed to his usual grin. The Scarecrow was petrified. This wasn't supposed to happen. The gas didn't have an effect on him. "W … w … What's the matter Johnny-boy, you look as if you just inhaled some of your own gas, whaahaha", the Joker continued as he menacingly approached his former partner in crime.

The Scarecrow backed off in terror. "N-n-no no, d-Joker, p-please l-l-listen t-to me", he stuttered, "th-the gas es-sc-caped b-by ac-ccident, I didn-n't m-mean t-t-to …"

"Oh, it's alright John", the Joker replied with his hand on the back of a chair. The Scarecrow's facial expressions started to loosen up. "I'll just have to hit you with this chair … BY ACCIDENT!" The Joker grabbed the chair he was holding, as he spoke and forcefully hit the former professor with it. The chair immediately shattered on impact as the Scarecrow cried out in pain. "Welcome to YOUR worst fear … Scarecrow! Whaahahaha."

A shadow quietly snuck towards the window of the hideout. "What's the use of a hideout if one can hear you miles away?", the Boy Wonder whispered. He prepared for his entrance through the window, when all of a sudden one of the inhabitants was thrown through the glass into the garbage bags that were lying in the street. Robin immediately leapt down to check up on the victim. "Well I guess the Joker knew garbage would be collected tomorrow morning", he said as he noticed the person lying in the thrash was the Scarecrow, moaning in pain. His left arm was bended in an unnatural position, with the bone sticking out through his red shirt. Robin looked away in disgust as he took his mobile phone and dialed the emergency number. "… err, hi, I need an ambulance and some police at err Harlequin Alley, the Joker seems to have ditched his partner in a less than pleasant way. … Err yeah, he's moaning so I guess he's still alive, it doesn't look to good though as I can see the bone stick out of his arm. … OK, thanks bye." He put back the phone and entered the hideout. He searched the entire building, but of course the Joker had already fled the place. He went back out to try to extract some information out of the heavily wounded Scarecrow. "Well Scarecrow", he started, "you should have expected this would happen, when you teamed up with the Joker. You're lucky he didn't kill you … though under the circumstances maybe you'd rather have been killed. So why don't you tell me his plan as a way to get back at him."

"B … Batman", the Scarecrow faintly replied.

"What?"

"He's … going … after … Batman."

"Why didn…" Robin stopped. He knew the answer. The sirens that had been in the background for the last couple of minutes, were now coming closer. As the ambulance and police cars appeared in the alley, the Boy Wonder fired his grappling hook and left the scene.

**Barbara Gordon's hospital room**

"Miss Gordon, we've got a temporary roommate for you", the nurse said as she entered the room.

"A roommate?", Barbara asked, "Isn't this room kind of small?"

"Don't worry, he won't be here for long."

"He?"

"Well if you don't want him, we can always take him somewhere else. But we thought you'd appreciate it if we brought him here first."

Barbara was puzzled. Who could she be talking about. "Wait! Who is he?"

The nurse pushed in a bed. On it lay commissioner James Gordon. "I'll leave you two alone then", she said as she left the room.

"Dad?", Barbara asked as she looked at the person on the bed, "Daddy?"

James Gordon opened his eyes and turned his head towards the person besides him. "My little girl", he exclaimed as he used the little energy he had left to stand up and leave his bed to hold his daughter.

Tears flew from both person's eyes as they were reunited in an intense hug. "I'm so glad you're alright", they both said in chorus.

**Leslie Thompkins' office**

"Are you sure you won't take painkiller? It'll hurt quite a bit", Leslie asked the Dark Knight.

"I'll cope", was Batman's reply, "just get on with it and don't hold back."

"Very well then." Leslie took her patients right arm. She twisted, pulled and pushed it, until it was back in its shoulder joint.

The pain could clearly be read from Batman's masked face, but he didn't say a word. He just bit the pain away. "Thanks", he said as he put his Kevlar shirt back on.

"I'd advise you not to go in the streets for the rest of the night. You really should get some rest, you can stay here if you like."

"I can't stay here. Bane knows I'm here and nothing will stop him to get me. It might even help him deduce who I really am. I'll just have to go home and get some rest there."

"But how, you told me the Batmobile was probably a total loss."

"I'll just have to use one of my delta gliders that I have hidden throughout the city. All I have to care about now, is that I leave this place out of Bane's reach."

"And will that be doable?"

"It'll be hard. He knows exactly how I think. I'll just have to surprise him, but one thing's for sure. I can't stay here."

"Just be careful!"

Batman had already left the office. He walked towards the front door. As Batman, he had never used the front door to exit a place before, well maybe he had, but that was probably due to the lack of alternative escape routes. This time however, there were plenty of alternatives. It would certainly surprise Robin that he left the building through the front door. He could only hope the same counted for Bane. He walked through the door and looked around. No one could be seen. Had his plan worked? Had he really outsmarted Bane? It was too soon to know for sure and even if he did escape victory would only be short. He'd have to face Bane once anyhow. Sleep would be welcome though. This last thought fixated on his mind, he aimed his grapple gun towards the nearest flag pole and fired it.


	15. Chapter 14: Mistakes

**Notes: I still don't own Batman and his family, nor do I earn anything with this story. This is the final chapter (apart from the epilogue which will arrive shortly). I found writing dialogues for Bane rather hard, as he isn't a native english speaker, but speaks the language pretty good, hence I used some sentences that aren't grammatically incorrect, but sound a bit odd. People will notice the Joker is tempting Robin much in the same way as Ozai tried to tempt Zuko in "Day of the Black sun", this was on purpose (both are portrayed by Mark Hamill, hence I don't see the problem. XRF means X-ray fluorescence by the way and is a way of chemical analysis.**

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Chapter XIV Mistakes

The sound of the firing grapple gun echoed in the streets. The cable spun around the pole and as the rope set, Batman got ready for takeoff. He was barely airborne as someone grabbed him by the waist. "Going somewhere?", he heard his aggressor say in a thick South-American accent. "I'm hurt", Bane continued as he dragged his victim to a nearby dead alley, "I went through all this trouble to throw you a party, and you would just leave. Good thing I was there to prevent that from happening." He threw the Dark Knight into a wall. "I admit it, it was a nice try to fool me. It would certainly have worked if I was someone else. But you forgot something, I know all your moves, the way you think, everything. And now you're at my mercy, though you can beg for it as much as you like, which I know you won't, it won't make a difference. You are the only person who has ever defeated me, so I can't let you live. I have to finish what I started."

"You talk too much!", the Batman interrupted him as he threw a few gas bomb pellets towards him. Teargas filled the area where Bane was standing.

"Ha ha", a voice rose behind him, "the toys again, maybe you could swing one of your little bat-things at my venom control device, oops I don't have it anymore. Good thing too, as it was a weak link in my chain. Anyhow, you should know, señor Batman, that I received a super soldier training. I'm quite agile for my size, a lot more agile than you are right now, your little assistant should be able to confirm, though I'm nowhere near as agile as he is. I must admit that he impressed me. When he reaches your age, which might just happen if he leaves me alone, he'll be a better opponent than you have ever been. But this story aside, what I meant is that it was quite easy to evade your little bombs. Not to mention the fact that the training did involve a habituation to different kinds of gas, so while I'm not immune, your teargas gas has less effect on me than on an average person." The Dark Knight tossed the lid of a garbage can towards him. It barely had any effect. "What are you trying? Tickle me to death." He grabbed Batman by the collar. "Maybe it's time to finish this. Goodbye, Batman, you were a worthy opponent. But all you can do now is pray that it will be painless." The Dark Knight was barely capable of moving as Bane held him over his head and bent his knee, ready to finally break the Caped Crusader.

"Is that what you think", a third voice arose from one of the dark corners of the alley.

"Who's there?", a startled Bane asked still holding Batman over his head.

"I have to admit it. It was nicely thought out scheme. I could have come up with it myself, well not quite as it's not really my style. You underestimated one person though, and you'll pay the price for that."

"What? You? But you should be thanking me for all things I've done", Bane replied as he recognized the figure.

"Maybe I will, or maybe you should be thanking me, but let me continue. Your plan was pretty transparent, I mean freeing the entire maximum security wing of Arkham except for Lock-Up, you can't get more obvious than that. But maybe you didn't consider it necessary to cover up your plan. Anyway, I decided to play along. You wanted a broken Batman to put out of his misery, I decided to give him to you. And to do so, I manufactured one of the most cruel plans I ever had. A plan that would break old Batsy mentally and at the same time gave me an opportunity to do some experiments. No one would ever question my motives. It was something only I would be capable of and it was something that could be expected from me. You've got to love being me, I can do anything I like. … I guess you shouldn't have freed me, though I would probably have escaped by myself in that case. I simply walk out of Arkham whenever I please. Maybe you knew this, maybe you knew it was futile not to free me and hence freed me not to awaken a wrath within me. Or maybe you knew that only I would be capable of breaking him enough for you to finish him. Or maybe you just didn't think of me. But I'll tell you what you definitely forgot: nobody kills the bat but me!"

"So you want Batman, señor Joker", Bane calmly replied, "then have him!" He threw the Caped Crusader towards the Clown Prince of Crime, who was tossed over on impact. "I'll just have to break you first."

The Joker laughed as he stood up and walked towards Bane. "You know, I really do have to thank you, Muscle Bag, you gave me the perfect opportunity to humiliate Batsy. He is actually being saved by his worst enemy, it's the utter humiliation, not to mention all the irony of it, whaahahaha!"

"There is just one minor flaw in your reasoning, señor Joker", Bane replied, "You have to get past me first and I don't see that happening any time soon."

"Well, last time I checked, corpses can't see."

"Oh come on, Joker, now you are underestimating me. Do you really think I don't know about your tricks, about your little flower." Bane held his thumb on the flower in Joker's vest. "Now, if you don't struggle, this won't hurt a bit." He wrapped his big hands around the jester's slender body. As he tightened his grip an aerosol was blown out of the Joker's collar right into Bane's face.

"You don't even know half of my tricks, Muscle Bag, and you probably never will. You're as good as dead, and I hardly had to do an effort." The Joker laughed sadistically. He was delighted, even though Bane's grip was extremely uncomfortable.

"You may have defeated me, Joker", Bane coughed in reply, "but I'm taking you with me, hehehe!" He hove the Joker over his head and bent his knee. He couldn't help it to laugh, much to his own surprise. He got ready to smash the Joker's spine onto his knee, but his laughter intensified. Instead of smashing the harlequin, he simply dropped him, while he fell on the floor unable to control his laughter. The pain of his cramping muscles was terrible and yet all Bane could do was laugh. He crawled on the floor uncontrollably, until he finally lay still, his facial muscles forced into a macabre grin.

The Joker stood up and looked at his victim. He smiled. "That's for interrupting my sleep that night", was his final remark to the once formidable Bane. He turned towards Batman, who could still barely move. "Batsy, Batsy, Batsy, who could have thought after all these years that I would be the one to save your life? Why, this is even better than killing you. The way you must be feeling right now, the humiliation you went through. Every Arkhamite would be willing to pay millions for this and I just got it for free. I think I'll enjoy this for quite some time, while you will be struggling with your awkwardness, whaahahaha. Well at least you've got the consolation that you survived it all. There's no fun in killing you now, it'd kill the fun of the situation."

A slow applause emerged from the darkness. "Brilliant", Robin said as he stepped into sight, "my compliments to the writer, producer and director, and of course the protagonist. It was by far one of the best plays I have ever seen, though I have to admit I missed everything but the ending, but it was brilliant none the less. What a surprise, I'd never have expected the hero to be saved by his worst enemy. And yet it was written as if it's all but illogical. Fantastic. Could I have your autograph please?"

"Of course", the Joker said as he took a bow. The Boy Wonder quickly took the opportunity to cuff one of his enemy's hands. "What do you think you're doing?", the Joker asked in annoyance as Robin dragged him towards a malfunctioning street light and cuffed his other hand around it.

"Making sure you don't go off stage."

"I would have given you my autograph. I'd even have carved it in your skin"

"I don't care about your autograph. You didn't think you'd get away with what you did to the Gordon family, did you?"

"I always do, Birdboy. Perhaps you wish to do something about that yourself. I'm harmless, cuffed to a street light. You can do whatever you like, no one's here to stop you and you know you want to do it. What are you waiting for?"

"Hahahaha, that's exactly what you want me to do. Well I won't, you might take pleasure in driving people insane, but you failed, I'm simply taking pleasure with you being harmless and unable to do anything but wait for the police to arrive. Who knows, if they take long enough, pigeons might even start to defecate on your head. Now, that would be a joke."

Joker's expression switched to anger. "You're a weakling, you hear me, a weakling! Anyhow, driving our law enforcers insane wasn't even my real plan, it was nothing but a decoy for this and it worked, you hear me, it worked!"

Robin ignored him and walked towards Bane's body. "I don't care, but the way I gather it, you do." He searched for the body's pulse.

"Grr, … Either way, you're too late to save him. The dose I used on him was far more concentrated than any dose of my toxin I have ever used. If he's not dead by now, your antitoxin won't be able to save him."

"He's dead alright, I'll give you that much credit. Though the rest of the investigation doesn't concern you." The Boy Wonder searched the deceased assassin's pockets. All he found were the keys to a hotel room and a package of pills. The same pills Milo had fabricated, he was fairly sure of that. He took out one of the pills and put it in his utility belt. The package and keys were put back in Bane's pocket. He walked towards Batman. The Dark Knight was still conscious, albeit barely. Robin pulled him up and supported him. "It's not really the safest way to go home, but I guess it's the best", he said as they headed towards his bike, "Will you be alright sitting at the back?" Batman nodded. The Boy Wonder started the engine and carrying both passengers the bike drove off towards the cave.

**The Batcave**

The bike pulled over at the central platform. The platform that usually held the Batmobile. Both passengers had safely reached their destination. Robin assisted Batman as he got off the bike. "Well", the Boy Wonder started, "I guess you should get some rest while I analyze this pill and go after Milo."

"No", the Dark Knight interrupted, "We have to apprehend Milo as soon as possible. Once he hears about Bane, he'll probably flee and destroy the evidence, so we have to get there before that happens. Do you know where he is?"

"Well, last time he was at Daggett's Biomedical Lab."

"That's the other side of town. You'd better leave as soon as possible. I'll prepare the sample for analysis. What method did you use last time?"

"XRF"

"Good, I'll prepare the sample and program the computer to compare the sample's X-ray spectrum to your previous analysis. The results will be sent to your bike. You should have them by the time you arrive at the lab."

"OK", Robin replied as he started his bike, "Let's do this!" The motorcycle took off and left the cave. Driving as fast as he could, he kept a constant eye, or rather ear, on the radio news. Luckily, Bane's death wasn't a news item yet. At least Milo wouldn't find out via this channel, however the Boy Wonder wished he still had doctor Wataki's time warping device. He had been driving for well over an hour when the screen on his dashboard lit up, showing him the message that the pill Milo had given to him and the pill in Bane's pocket were chemically identical. The message was hardly a surprise, but at least he had proof now and if he prevented Milo from escaping and hiding or destroying the evidence, the police would come to the same conclusion. He wouldn't skip justice this time. The lights were still on as he arrived at his destination. He was lucky. The bird hadn't fled the nest yet. He stealthily entered the lab. Milo was, again, focused on his chemical tests and hadn't noticed the Boy Wonder's entry. The moment he put down the test tubes he was holding, in order to fetch a reagent, he was caught in a bola immobilizing his arms.

"You again", Milo exclaimed annoyed, "What's the matter? Were you that impressed with the effect of my pill that you want to steal some more?"

"Actually, I never consumed your pill, nor do I want to."

"Then why are you here? There's no way you've got something on me."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. We found that your pill was chemically identical with a pill I found in Bane's pocket."

"Hahaha, you expect me to believe that you actually managed to snatch something out of Bane's pocket?"

"Yup, and he didn't really make a fuss about it." The Boy Wonder took the chemist by his collar. "He even smiled, or rather grinned, at me when I did it. … Although I think that might have had something to do with the Joker's toxin."

Milo's confidence flew away like mercury in an open funnel. Bane was defeated. How could that have happened. He personally eliminated Bane's only Achilles heel. He should have been invincible. How could this have happened? "You mean Bane is dead?"

"Indeed. The Joker doesn't like it when someone else tries to kill Batman and no one wants to mess with him, but hey, at least he went smiling." Robin wrapped up the corrupted scientist and stuck a note with his signature on the gift. "Which is more than can be said about you, although from my perspective …" He hung up Milo upside down on the lab's ceiling. With the note he added the cassette containing their last conversation. While it didn't contain any evidence, it would certainly help the police with their investigation. He called the police and headed back for the Batcave. It had been a long nightmare, but at least it was over now

* * *

**Bane fans probably won't like what I did to him, while Joker fans might actually love it, but it was necessary for the story line. I hope people liked the Joker plottwist, to which I have been hinting since the very beginning, even though it's something he hasn't done before, I really see him doing it.  
**


	16. Epilogue

Epilogue

**One week later at Barbara Gordon's hospital room**

It was a sunny day in Gotham. The sky was practically completely blue with a rare cloud occurring from time to time. It seemed to be a perfect reflection of the sphere in room 374. Barbara Gordon was sitting upright on her bed. Sitting on a chair on her right side was Dick Grayson. Her father sat on her left.

"So, Mr. Gordon, …", Dick started.

"No need for formalities, Dick", the commissioner interrupted him, "We've known each other long enough, you can call me Jim if you like."

"OK, thanks Jim", Dick replied, "but what I wanted to ask: how did that Milo business turn out?"

"Well", James Gordon answered, "We arrested him. He probably won't get away with busting out Bane. We found Venom based pills at his lab that were chemically identical to residues from Bane's stomach contents. Rests of Venom in a chocolate mill, which was probably how he busted Bane out. The guards did confirm that Bane's piece of cake was different from the others in that it carried a piece of chocolate. In a way it's something really banal and easily forgotten. We probably would never have figured it out if it wasn't for the tape the Robin kid left us. Though maybe I shouldn't be calling him the kid anymore. He's been doing everything on his own for the past week, and pretty good too. Not to mention he saved Barbara's life."

"Yup", Barbara interrupted teasingly, "He's my hero. Maybe I should break up with you, Dick, and start something with Robin."

"Ha, good luck", Dick replied, "I heard he's been flirting with Batgirl for a while now."

"I can take Batgirl one on one!"

"I'm sure you can, just not right now. Anyway, about Milo."

James Gordon continued his story. "Well, searching Bane's hotel room was also quite fruitful. Bane recorded the conversation he had with Milo. Probably some kind of insurance."

"He must have learnt from his last encounter with Rupert Thorne", Barbara interrupted.

"Probably. If he was to go down this time, he wouldn't go alone, especially as the Venom pills seemed to be his only payment. I'm not too sure how the conspiracy to murder charges will turn out though. On the tape all Milo says, is that he wants Batman out of the equation whatever it takes, he never stated he wanted him dead. And there's also the fact that Batman isn't a juridical person. But at least there's some consolation in the fact that he won't get away with it like he did last time. He'll be locked up for quite a few years."

"Good", Dick replied.

A knocking on the door could be heard. "May I come in?", Leslie Thompkins asked through the chink.

"Of course you can", Dick replied, "come on in, Les."

"Good afternoon, doctor Thompkins", James Gordon greeted her, "I'd like to thank you for all you have done for my daughter, and, as I realize we aren't the target audience of this clinic, I'd like to make a donation."

"Don't mention it, commissioner", Leslie replied, "and if you'd want to contribute to our project, there are forms at the helpdesk. … Now, Barbara, you are one remarkably strong girl." Barbara smiled. "Your wounds have pretty much recovered, though you'll still have to rest for a couple of weeks. But there is one fact that was really exceptional considering what you've just been through. You can tell her now if you want, Dick."

"You need to tell me something?", Barbara asked.

"Yeah", Dick replied, "Leslie forbade me to tell you anything until you had recovered."

"It was for your own good though, so don't blame him", Leslie interrupted.

Dick continued: "It was hard to keep it from you and it's a bit odd that I'm the one telling you, but the thing is: soon it will be no longer just the two of us."

"You mean I'm … we're …" Barbara was speechless.

"Yes", Leslie replied, "When examining you we noticed that your embryo had nestled, which considering the circumstances is really remarkable."

"We're going to be a family, Dick". Barbara tightly embraced her partner.

James Gordon's face was stern. "It's a good thing computer science is a year less than most other majors."

"Daddy?"

"Well suppose you hadn't graduated yet, just like Dick, then you would have some serious problems with your finals."

"Aren't you happy, Dad?", Barbara asked. Her expression started saddening.

The commissioner kept his stern face for a few moments, but smiled shortly afterwards. "I was just teasing you, princess, of course I'm happy. I'm the happiest future grandpa in the world. Congratulations, sweetie!" He tightly hugged his daughter.

"I thought lame jokes were my domain", Dick annoyingly stated. Laughter filled the room.

**THE END**

* * *

**That's all folks. You may have noticed the Riddler is still on the loose. Well, if I ever decide to start writing the planned sequel, he will be the main antagonist. Though, I'm not sure yet how to portray him. I enjoyed writing this fic, I hope you've enjoyed reading it. As my first fic, I thought it to be convenient to base it vaguelyon existing stories (that I haven't read though). Following stories will probably be completely my own. Maybe it's a good time to review now.  
**


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